Aussie growers oppose entry of RP bananas

Online petition launched

MANILA, Philippines — “Tens of thousands” of Australians signed a petition opposing their government’s decision to allow the importation of bananas from the Philippines, Australian media reported Tuesday.

The Brisbane-based Australian Banana Growers’ Council, which is initiating a hardcopy and an online petition (www.saveaussiebananas.com), opposes banana imports from the Philippines “because of the risks of exotic pests and diseases travelling into Australia on any imported fruit.”

The online petition, which had over 80 screen pages showing the names of signatories and their comments when checked by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday, claimed that the Philippine banana would pose risks to the Australian banana industry and environment.

The petition will be personally delivered to the federal government in Canberra at the end of the month.

ABGC’s imports spokesman Len Collins said the banana industry remained committed to its four-pronged defense strategy involving legal, political, public awareness and scientific elements regarding Philippine banana imports.

“Our battle has not ended with the conclusion of the formal import risk analysis process and we will continue our campaign against imports on behalf of the Australian industry and consumers,” Collins said in a statement posted at the group’s website (http://www.abgc.org.au/?media/quarantine).

ABGC chief executive officer Tom Heindrich was quoted by Australian dailies as saying that reversing the government’s March decision to allow Philippine bananas into Australia would be “difficult.”

He, however, saw an opportunity for lobbyists to influence the process, which had yet to be finalized, he added.

“The risks of exotic pests and diseases are so high that we’re hoping the regulations will be too tough for the Philippines to comply with them,” Heindrich said.

The decision that allowed the importation of Cavendish bananas (called ‘lakatan’ in Tagalog) from the Philippines was made by Biosecurity Australia.

Biosecurity Australia is the federal agency which provides science-based quarantine assessments and policy advice that protects the country’s favorable pest and disease status and enhances Australia’s access to international animal and plant related markets.

According to Collins, a Philippine exporter, to gain access to the Australian market, will have to propose and then demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) the effectiveness of a multitude of quarantine measures under commercial conditions.

“In reducing the pest and disease risk on their export plantations to extremely low levels, these quarantine measures must be 100 percent effective, science based and verifiable.”

Collins said AQIS estimated it would be at least two years and most likely much longer before a suite of risk management measures could be developed and appropriate monitoring and compliance systems could be put in place.

“It is worth noting that all costs associated with establishing the risk management regime are to be borne by the exporter, including the costs of stationing AQIS inspectors on the ground in the Philippines,” he added.

This, he explained, represented an “enormous” challenge for Philippine banana exporters who have had chronic pest and disease issues, have not possessed a quarantine culture and have shown little capacity to undertake the scientific work required to develop and establish a reputable suite of quarantine measures.

Collins said that “hostile reaction” from the Philippines to the news that imports would be permitted subject to phytosanitary measures would also seem to support this view.

“Given the overwhelming pest and disease risks and the highly unlikely prospect of Philippine exporters being able to effectively reduce those pests and diseases to the extremely low levels required for imports to be permitted, one could be forgiven for asking why Biosecurity Australia did not just say no to imports,” he said.

As the national quarantine regulator, Biosecurity Australia’s job is establish how high the bar is set in order to meet Australia’s acceptable level of protection, according to Collins.

“It does not presume to judge whether or not the Philippines will be able to jump over the bar,” he said.

According to the ABGC, about 14,000 hectares of bananas are grown Australia-wide by 800 growers in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, with limited production in the Northern Territory because of soil-disease problems. –Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer