Draft report for the non-regulated analysis of existing policy for fresh strawberry fruit from the Republic of Korea

4Pest risk assessments for quarantine pests

Quarantine pests associated with strawberries in Korea are identified in the pest categorisation process (Appendix A). This chapter assesses the likelihood of the entry (importation and distribution), establishment and spread of these pests and the economic, including environmental, consequences these pests may cause if they were to enter, establish and spread in Australia.

Pest categorisation identified seven quarantine pests associated with strawberries from Korea. Tables 4.1 to 4.4 identify these quarantine pests. Of these, five pests are of national concern and two are of regional concern. Full details of the pest categorisation are given in Appendix A.

Assessments of risks associated with these seven pests are presented in this chapter. These pests have previously been evaluated by the department. The outcomes of previous assessments have been adopted where appropriate. Further explanation about the adoption of the outcomes of previous assessments is outlined below.

The likelihood of establishment and of spread of a pest in the PRA area will be comparable regardless of the fresh fruit commodity/country pathway in which the pest is imported into Australia, as these likelihoods relate specifically to events that occur in the PRA area and are independent of the importation pathway. The consequences of a pest are also independent of the importation pathway. For pests that have been assessed previously, the department reviewed the latest literature. If there is no new information available that would significantly change the likelihood ratings for establishment and for spread, and the consequences the pests may cause, the ratings given in the previous assessments for these components will be adopted.

The need to reassess the likelihood of distribution for pests that have been assessed previously is considered on a case-by-case basis by comparing factors relevant to the distribution of strawberries from Korea with those assessed previously. These factors include the commodity type, time of year at which import takes place and availability and susceptibility of hosts during the time of import. After comparing these factors and reviewing the latest literature, the ratings of likelihood of distribution from the previous assessments will be adopted if the department considers that the likelihood of distribution for strawberries from Korea would be comparable to that given in the previous assessments.

The need to reassess the likelihood of importation for pests that have been assessed previously is also considered on a case-by-case basis by comparing factors relevant to the importation of strawberries from Korea with those assessed previously. These factors include the commodity type, prevalence of the pest and commercial production practices. After comparing these factors and reviewing the latest literature, the department considers it appropriate not to reassess the likelihood of importation where a) there is no information to suggest that the likelihood of importation for strawberries from Korea is not comparable to those assessed previously, or b) changes in the likelihood rating for importation will not change the overall outcome, that is the unrestricted risk estimate (URE) of achieving or not achieving the ALOP for Australia.

The URE of achieving or not achieving the ALOP for Australia will be adopted for pests for which the reassessment of both the likelihood of importation and the likelihood of distribution is considered not necessary because the URE outcome would not change from the previous assessment (Table 4.2).

Table 4.3 lists the pests for which the department considers that the differences in the information relating to the likelihood of importation is sufficient to warrant the reassessment of this component. The remaining likelihood ratings and consequence estimates are adopted from previous assessments.

In addition, the quarantine risks posed by Drosophila suzukii from all countries and for all commodities, including strawberries, were previously assessed in the final pest risk analysis report for Drosophila suzukii (Department of Agriculture 2013). Therefore, there is no need to reassess this pest here (Table 4.4). A summary of pest information and the likelihood ratings and consequence estimates from the final PRA report for D. suzukii is presented in this chapter for convenience.

Some pests identified in this assessment have been recorded in some regions of Australia, and due to interstate quarantine regulations are considered pests of regional concern. The acronym for the state or territory for which the regional pest status is considered, such as ‘WA’ (Western Australia) and ‘NT’ (Northern Territory), is used to identify these pests.

The pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest production practices, as described in Chapter 3, are taken into consideration in estimating the likelihood of pest introduction with strawberries from Korea. Key aspects being considered include harvesting, transport, grading and packaging of strawberries. While the assessments of the unrestricted risk undertaken in this risk analysis do not impose any mandatory measures during pre-harvest, transport and packing, common commercial practices may impact on the survival of some pests. If these conditions are applied to all Korean strawberries bound for export, then those conditions can be considered as part of the assessment of the unrestricted risk.

Table 4. Quarantine pests for strawberries from Korea for which a full pest risk assessment is conducted

Pest	Common name
Bacteria
Xanthomonas fragariae	angular leaf spot

Table 4. Quarantine pests for strawberries from Korea for which the URE outcome is adopted from previous assessments

Pest	Common name
Thrips (Thripidae)
Frankliniella intonsa (EP)	Eurasian flower thrips
Frankliniella occidentalis (EP, NT)	western flower thrips

EP: Species has been assessed previously and import policy already exists.

NT: Pest of quarantine concern for the Northern Territory.

Table 4. Quarantine pests for strawberries from Korea for which some of the likelihood ratings and consequence estimates are adopted from previous assessments

Pest	Common name
Spider mites [Trombidiformes: Tetranychidae]
Tetranychus kanzawai (EP, WA)	Kanzawa spider mite
Fungi
Monilia polystroma (EP)	Asiatic brown rot
Monilinia fructigena (EP)	brown rot

EP: Species has been assessed previously and import policy already exists.

WA: Pest of quarantine concern for Western Australia.

Table 4. Quarantine pests for strawberries from Korea for which the likelihood ratings and consequence estimates have been determined in previous assessments

Pest	Common name
Fruit flies [Diptera: Drosophilidae]
Drosophila suzukii (EP)	spotted wing drosophila

EP: Species has been assessed previously and import policy already exists.