Tomato virus prompts MPI review after Australia’s management shift

The tomato brown rugose fruit virus. Photo / Tomatoes New Zealand

By RNZ

The Ministry for Primary Industries says it will review its current controls after Australia changed its strategy to deal with a highly contagious virus affecting tomatoes, capsicums and chillies.

Across the Tasman, biosecurity experts and industry representatives have declared tomato brown rugose virus not technically feasible to eradicate, and moved to a management strategy.

The “tomato virus” was first detected in South Australia last August and has also been found on a farm in Victoria.

It is not harmful to humans, but infected fruit can ripen irregularly or be deformed.

It can also reduce crop yields by 70%.

Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director-general Stuart Anderson said the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) had controls in place that were “working well for New Zealand and prevented any issues for our tomato growers after the discovery of tomato brown rugose fruit virus ... at sites in South Australia last August”.

He said a ban on all Australian tomato imports remained in place, even though only Australian tomatoes from Queensland, an area free from the virus, were imported here.

“We made the decision to suspend imports from all Australian states out of an abundance of caution.

“As part of the actions we took, tomato and capsicum seeds from Australia require testing for the virus prior to arrival in New Zealand, a requirement already in place for other countries where the virus is present.

“That requirement remains.

“Although Australia has announced they will no longer be pursuing eradication, all of the controls that have been in place to limit spread of the virus remain.”

There was nothing to suggest the virus was here, but the MPI chief biosecurity officer would conduct a review of what Australia has in place to manage the risk, and New Zealand’s import rules “to ensure that our settings remain reasonable”, he said.

“New Zealand imports Australian capsicums from Queensland ... [tomato brown rugose fruit virus] has not been reported in any parts of Australia in capsicums and has not been detected in Queensland.

“We are closely monitoring the situation in Australia, and if there is any significant change in distribution or which crops it is affecting, we will review the current import rules.

“We continue to work closely with New Zealand’s tomato sector.

“We have asked New Zealand industry representatives to assist by sharing any information they have that may inform our decision-making.

“We also meet regularly with Australian officials to maintain a continued understanding of the situation.”

The MPI said growers should continue to check their biosecurity practices.

“As always ... be vigilant and contact us on our pests and diseases hotline (0800 80 99 66) if [you] notice problems with [your] tomatoes”.

– RNZ