BULLETIN: KHAPRA BEETLE : Urgent actions to protect against khapra beetle
| The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) has recently issued Import Industry Advice Notice 115-2022 in relation to the commencement of a pest risk analysis for khapra beetle. |
115-2022: Khapra beetle measures: Commencement of a pest risk analysis for khapra beetle
Khapra beetle is Australia’s number two National Priority Plant Pest and the number one plant priority pest for grains. It is not present in Australia, but it is a highly invasive pest that poses a major threat to Australia’s grains industry. Khapra beetle destroys grain quality making it unfit for human or animal consumption.
A number of countries, including Australia, have seen a recent increase in khapra interceptions. It is being detected in:
- imported plant products
- goods that it previously had no association with
- sea containers as a hitchhiker pest
- imports from countries not known to have khapra beetle.
Who does this notice affect?
Importers of high-risk plant products, other-risk plant products, seeds for sowing and other stakeholders in the import and shipping industries – including vessel masters, freight forwarders, treatment providers, Biosecurity Industry Participants, importers, customs brokers, principal shipping agents, and any other operators in the sea container supply and logistics chain.
What has changed?
We have formally announced the commencement of a pest risk analysis for Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium). The announcement has been made via a Biosecurity Advice notice to all registered stakeholders and published on our website along with an Announcement Information Paper.
Khapra beetle is not present in Australia and poses a major threat to Australia’s grains, rice and nut industries as a serious storage pest. A number of countries, including Australia have seen a recent increase in detections of khapra beetle in imported plant products and as a hitchhiker pest of sea containers. In September 2020, we introduced emergency measures (also called ‘urgent actions’) to address the risks of khapra beetle. More information on the emergency measures is found at Urgent actions to protect against khapra beetle.
We have now initiated the pest risk analysis to further assess the biosecurity risks of khapra beetle and to ensure that the emergency measures manage the biosecurity risks to achieve the appropriate level of protection for Australia.
We expect to release the draft report of the pest risk analysis in early 2023 for a 60-day public consultation period.
The existing emergency measures for khapra beetle and other Trogoderma species of biosecurity concern associated with stored plant products will remain in place until the pest risk analysis is completed and any recommended ongoing phytosanitary measures are implemented.
| Further information for specific produce should be sought from Australian Government. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. |
Urgent actions to protect against khapra beetle
On 7 July 2022, we commenced a pest risk analysis on khapra beetle. For more information visit the Khapra beetle pest risk analysis web page.
We are regularly updating this webpage to answer your queries. We will provide further updates on the implementation of each phase as we work through the complexities of the urgent actions.
Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is a small but serious pest, and we want to keep it out of Australia. As such, we are implementing urgent actions that will impact imports of plant products and sea containers. The urgent actions are being supported by a $14.5 million investment to safeguard Australia against this significant pest.
Urgent actions
The urgent actions are being implemented in phases. Click on the links below for further detail on each phase.
- Requirements for high-risk plant products
(Phases 1-3) - Requirements for other-risk plant products
(Phase 4) - Requirements for seeds for sowing
(Phase 5) - Requirements for sea containers
(Phase 6)
We encourage you to check the department website to determine if your cargo is at risk. Should you have any further queries please contact with our customs broker department in your state.