Biosecurity New Zealand has placed import restrictions on tomato seed imports from Australia, after the detection of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus at two South Australian growing properties.

“We’ve stepped up our biosecurity requirements in response to the recent finds in South Australia,” says Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director general Stuart Anderson.

“Imported seeds for sowing from Australia will now require testing for the virus prior to arrival in New Zealand, which is a requirement that is already in place for other countries where the virus is present.

“We have also temporarily suspended tomato imports from all Australian states except Queensland, where there is no evidence of the disease or links to the affected properties in South Australia.”

Stuart says all our imported tomatoes from Australia currently come from Queensland and not South Australia.

“We’re in close contact with our counterparts in Australia about what they’ve found and the measures they are taking, and we’ll continue to monitor the situation closely.

“We’re committed to ensuring New Zealand growers are protected and that’s why we’ve taken these steps already.”

Stuart says the virus, which was first noted in the Middle East, has never been found in New Zealand, and affects tomatoes, capsicums, and chillies, causing yellowing and deformity in the host plants, but has no impact on human health.

“There is nothing to suggest the virus is here at present, but as always we ask growers to check their biosecurity practices and be vigilant and contact us on our pests and diseases hotline (0800 80 99 66) if they notice problems with their tomatoes.”