Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) has welcomed the lifting of movement controls on fruit and vegetables in Auckland following the successful response to the detection of a single Oriental fruit fly.
Biosecurity New Zealand lifted controls on movement of fruit and vegetables in the suburb of Papatoetoe following no further finds of fruit flies since a single male Oriental fruit fly was discovered in a surveillance trap in the suburb in early January.
Biosecurity New Zealand’s decision to end the controls operation attested to the effectiveness of New Zealand’s biosecurity system and the swift action taken when the fruit fly was detected, Kate Scott, chief executive of HortNZ, said.
“We appreciate the co-operation from residents and businesses of Papatoetoe to ensure fruit and vegetables were safely disposed of. Their support has been invaluable in protecting New Zealand’s horticulture sector,” she said.
“The Oriental fruit fly poses a serious threat to New Zealand’s fruit and vegetable industries, and growers will be pleased with this outcome. Biosecurity is critical to their livelihoods, and growers rely on a strong, responsive system to protect their crops, orchards and market access.”
While the movement restrictions have been lifted, HortNZ supports the ongoing surveillance as part of routine biosecurity measures.
“Continued vigilance is essential to keeping our sector free of pests like Oriental fruit fly.”
Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard applauded the efforts of a south Auckland community, the horticulture industry and Biosecurity New Zealand, to mark the end of the Oriental fruit fly response.
Lifting the controls was great news, particularly for the $7 billion horticulture export industry, “which could have been devastated by the establishment of a fruit fly population in New Zealand,” Mr Hoggard says.
Biosecurity New Zealand’s national fruit fly surveillance programme will continue, which includes a network of fruit fly traps.
“This find last month shows the effectiveness of our surveillance trapping system. There are more than 7,800 traps set nationwide and checked regularly. These enable us to find fruit flies early and enable a faster and more effective response if finds are made, like we did in Papatoetoe,” Mr Hoggard says.
Sources: Horticulture New Zealand and the Minister of Biosecurity.
