News

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (BMSB)

24/7/2018

 

Seasonal measures for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) 

 

Brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an exotic pest.

It is not found in Australia and needs to be kept out as it could severely impact our agricultural industries.

Juveniles and adults feed on, and can severely damage, fruit and vegetable crops rendering them unsellable or reducing production yields. Adult BMSB can also be a nuisance, entering vehicles, homes and factories for shelter over winter.

BMSB is a high priority pest, which seeks out a place to hide over winter, often congregating in items where they are sheltered.  For this reason, they are well known to stow away in cargo coming out of the northern hemisphere between September and April each year, which coincides with late autumn and winter.

Every year the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources reviews the import conditions in time for the brown marmorated stink bug season which begins in September and puts in place robust import conditions for goods arriving from risk countries.

The Department is currently working on finalising draft measures for the upcoming season (1st September 2018 to 30th April 2019) and we expect the complete and final measures to be published in early August. This will include applicable target goods, risk countries, specific treatment rates and approved offshore treatment providers.

To manage the risk, all risk goods shipped via sea cargo from any of the risk countries identified by the Department will be required to undergo an approved treatment.  

!!! Goods arriving untreated may be required to be re-exported or destroyed !!! Any costs associated with these Quarantine measures will pose a significant financial risk to the importer of the cargo.

Further information can be found on: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/import/before/pests/brown-marmorated-stink-bugs. Extract below:

Draft measures include:

• heightened surveillance on all roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) and general cargo vessels through additional pre-arrival reporting with a BMSB questionnaire and daily checks conducted by vessel masters
• inspection, treatment or other directions for identified high risk vessels
• mandatory offshore treatment for target high risk goods
• increased onshore intervention for target risk goods
• export or destruction of target high risk goods requiring mandatory offshore treatment and arriving untreated, or treated by an unapproved treatment provider, unless exceptional circumstances are granted.

Target risk countries

• United States of America
• Italy
• Germany
• France
• Russia
• Greece
• Hungary
• Romania
• Georgia
• Japan (heightened vessel surveillance will be the only measure applied).

Target high risk goods

Goods in this category will require mandatory offshore treatment for BMSB risk if they are shipped as break bulk, open top or on flat racks.

Containerised goods in this category shipped as LCL (less than container Load) and FAK (freight of all kinds) will require mandatory offshore treatment for BMSB. The option for onshore treatment is being considered for FCL (full container load) and FCX (full container consolidated).

All tariffs under the following chapters are being considered as high- risk goods.

Target risk goods

Goods in this category will be subject to increased onshore intervention.

All tariffs under the following chapters are being considered as target risk goods.

Exempted goods

BMSB seasonal measures do not apply to goods not identified as ‘target high risk’ and ‘target risk’.

Treatment options

• heat treatment
• methyl bromide fumigation
• sulfuryl fluoride fumigation.

Please ensure your suppliers are aware of the requirements and all cargo is sufficiently treated at origin in order to avoid lenghty delays and extra costs upon arrival.

We encourage everyone to contact the Fracht team if you have any further questions or require further information.