New system ready for Japan season

Joy Tang, Avocados Australia Export Coordinator

A new online export registration system has been launched for the 2021 Japan export registration, as well as the addition of new materials to support growers and packhouses navigate the protocol requirements for Japan.

These new resources which have been funded through two Australian Government Package Assisting Small Exporter (PASE) grants, will be launched in time for growers and packhouses to use for Japan export registration in 2021.

The Online Export Registration system for avocado industry has been developed by adapting the existing Australian Table Grape Association (AGTA) online registration system. Avocados Australia and AGTA have successfully run through the new system in early March. The system was further tested by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment in April. Avocados Australia ran a training workshop on how to use the online system for growers and packhouses in Western Australia before the export to Japan season starts. This workshop was held in Manjimup on 1 June. A recording will be available in the BPR for those who could not attend.

The new support materials, which provide specific information for those seeking to access the Japanese market, will also be uploaded to the Best Practice Resource in time for the growers and packhouses to use for the Japan export registration 2021. The new materials aim to simplify the key requirements for growers and packhouses wishing to export to Japan including guidance for record keeping and the audit process.

We expect the two PASE projects to provide a simplified and transparent export registration process for avocado growers and packhouses when exporting to protocol markets.

More information

Contact Avocados Australia on 07 3846 6566, or email export@avocado.org.au.

Avocados Australia CEO John Tyas and Export Coordinator Joy Tang work with Australian Table Grape Association’s Jeff Scott.

Exporting to Japan Grower Resource

Grower requirements: Am I ready to export to Japan?

There are a number of regulatory requirements that must be satisfied if you want to supply fruit for export to Japan. If you can meet the requirements you will be able to register as an ‘accredited property’ for growing fruit for export to Japan. Registration to become an ‘accredited property’ must be undertaken annually and is managed jointly by Avocados Australia and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE). All growers will be audited by DAWE each year. Although the requirements are summarised in this resource, growers should also do their own due diligence before deciding to register their orchard. The source documents outlining the requirements are the Japan Avocado Protocol and Japan Avocado Workplan, both of which can be found at MICOR (https://micor.agriculture.gov.au). Please note: for some documents you will need to visit https://micor.agriculture.gov.au/Plants/Pages/Apply-for-plants-access.aspx to apply for access. Once you have registered for access, you can find the link to the “Work Plans and Protocols” documents on this page https:// micor.agriculture.gov.au/Plants/Pages/Documents.aspx. To be eligible to supply fruit for export to Japan, you must: 1. Produce Hass variety (all other varieties are not permitted). 2. Produce fruit in WA or Riverland Pest Free Area. If there is a fruit fly outbreak in your production location, you may not be permitted to export until the outbreak is resolved. 3. Produce ‘hard mature fruit’ (pick hard fruit from healthy trees). • The technical definition is: ‘hard mature condition means fruit must be deliberately detached from healthy branches of living trees and show no signs of softening or spotted areas. Fruit must not have any areas of breakdown or broken skin on any part of the fruit’. • To be compliant, before harvest, growers must ensure that all fallen fruit has been removed from the ground and disposed of. 4. 5. Pick, transport and store at packhouse within 24 hours. • The technical definition is: ‘be transported to the packhouse on the same day of harvest, and packed; or enter into secure cold room storage within 24 hours from the time of harvest and packed’. Be able to keep fruit from blocks registered for export to Japan segregated from other avocado fruit at all times. 6. 7. Have connections to a packhouse accredited to send avocados to Japan. Both the farm and the packhouse must hold their own accreditation for Japan. Have a Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) system in place, specifically processes related to: • routine in-field monitoring and controls • integrated pest management (IPM) program for pests • spraying • traceability system • orchard/block hygiene program which includes: - weed control - mulch - destruction or removal of fallen fruit • - clearly identify avocado trees other than Hass varieties within the approved orchard. identification of grafted trees.

EXPORTING TO JAPAN | GROWER REQUIREMENTS | MAY 2021

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