Fears for apple industry

South West apple growers are fearful a World Trade Organisation decision to reject Australia’s appeal against apple imports from New Zealand will compromise the future of the industry.

A signatory to the WTO since its inception, Australia is required to allow free trade but only where there is no possibility of damaging diseases entering a country.

Australia is one of just a handful of countries remaining free of fire blight, a disease that is the scourge of many international growers including those in New Zealand.

South West apple grower and chairmanofFruit West Ben Darbyshire said apples from New Zealand could be in Australian kitchens as early as the middle of next year.

‘‘There unquestionably is a risk there and that’s why Australian growers have been vehemently opposed to apples coming in from a country where those diseases exist,’’ Mr Darbyshire said.

‘‘The WTO is a third party auditor if you like and decided in its wisdom that the risk of fire blight coming into Australia was quite minimal.

‘‘I don’t think any Australian grower would agree with that and to be perfectly honest, it’s a bit rich a third party person making that comment when if it does come in, isn’t going to impact them.’’

Chairman of Apple and Pear Australia Ltd Darral Ashton said the industry was extremely disappointed but accepted the ruling.

‘‘We have no further avenues of appeal but we are pleased that the Minister for Agriculture, Senator Joe Ludwig, has already announced that Australia will re-do an Import Risk Analysis on New Zealand apple imports,’’ Mr Ashton said.

Mr Ludwig said trade would not occur until quarantine measures that appropriately protected Australia and its producers were established.

Chairman of the Fire Blight Task Force John Corboy said the decision by the WTO impacted on Australians’ sovereign right to determine their appropriate level of protection and to undertake import risk analyses where there were issues of quarantine concern.

‘‘Under the current WTO ruling, apples could be harvested from trees dripping with fire blight infection and sent to Australia,’’ Mr Corboy said.

‘‘Clearly, this is not an acceptable situation.’’