Market Access Team

The Fresh and Secure Trade Alliance (FASTA), launched on 14 August 2023, is a $130 million collaborative research program designed to protect and grow Australia’s horticultural exports.

The project aims to:

• enhance and safeguard horticultural exports through 6 aligned research components
• address commercial production realities
• modernise research efforts for technical market access.

The project objectives are:

• Increase international and domestic horticulture trade (post-harvest).
• Reduce the impact of endemic pests on sustainable horticulture crop production (pre-harvest).
• Improve preparedness for exotic pests (biosecurity).
• Increase or maintain market access research capacity (people).

View this project on Hort Innovation.

This national collaboration combined new and existing knowledge about fruit flies to ensure regulators have access to comprehensive scientific and technical information.

The project aimed to:

• clarify current fruit fly distribution
• better understand fruit fly reproduction and development
• provide updated host lists
• develop molecular-based diagnostic tools that will automate the identification of large, multi-species trap catches.

View our predicting and preventing fruit fly case study.

This project is examining the methyl bromide doses effective against fruit flies in a range of commodities. It will provide information and recommendations for domestic trade pathways. Physiological studies and residue analysis of treated fruit and vegetables will lead to a better understanding of fumigation. Full efficacy data sets will be developed for key commodities.

View the projects underway on DAFF.

This multi-industry project is developed a suite of phytosanitary data packages to support long-term goals for international market access.

The project involved research to develop cold treatment (CT) schedules for Queensland fruit fly in blueberries for potential export to multiple markets.

This project determined the host status for pest fruit fly species of hard, mature mangoes.

Information gathered through this project helped to expand Australia’s mango industry exports.

This project developed a non-invasive, rapid assessment technique to consistently sort male and female Queensland fruit fly pupae using near-infrared spectroscopy technology.

It will be applied in the Sterile Insect Technology (SIT) Program.

The project used area-wide management systems to successfully control fruit flies in small areas.

View our case study on the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

This project is addressing the over-reliance on cobalt-60 gamma facilities for food irradiation worldwide and promoting new irradiation technologies that treat food using electron beam and x-ray radiation.

This International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP) focuses on finding examples of tolerant species in 7 pest groups and developing suitable generic phytosanitary irradiation treatments.

Developing generic doses for these pest groups—plus the 150 Gy dose already in place for fruit flies—would address more than 90% of quarantine issues for fresh fruit and vegetables.

• Vapour Heat Treatment of mango to China.
• Vapour Heat Treatment of mango to Korea.
• Vapour Heat Treatment of mango to Japan.
• Cold treatment of Citrus to China (1°C).
• Cold treatment of Citrus to Korea (1°C).
• Cold treatment of Citrus to Japan (1°C).
• Cold treatment of Citrus to the United States (1°C and comparative trials on lesser-studied species).
• Cold treatment of Stonefruit to China (generic treatment for Australian Bactrocera species).
• Cold treatment of Stonefruit to the United States (comparative trials on lesser-studied species).
• Fumigation of Peaches to China.
• Fumigation of Nectarines to China.
• Systems approach for capsicum to New Zealand.
• Fumigation of capsicum to New Zealand.
• Dimethoate treatment for melons to New Zealand (now deregistered).
• Dimethoate for tomato to New Zealand (now deregistered).
• Dimethoate for capsicum to New Zealand (now deregistered).
• Irradiation of mango to the United States.
• Irradiation of lychee to the United States.
• Irradiation of mango to New Zealand.
• Irradiation of lychee to New Zealand.
• Irradiation of tomato to New Zealand.
• Irradiation of capsicum to New Zealand.
• Irradiation of grapes to New Zealand.

See the current international export conditions.

• ICA-01 – Dipping with Dimethoate.
• ICA-02 – Flood Spraying with Dimethoate.
• ICA-03 – Low Volume Non-recirculated Spraying with Fenthion (now deregistered).
• ICA-09 – Pumpkin Condition for Exotic Fruit Fly.
• ICA-11 – Pre-harvest Treatment and Inspection of Strawberries.
• ICA-12 – Unbroken Skin Condition of Approved Fruits Watermelon Condition for Exotic Fruit Fly.
• ICA-13 – Unbroken Skin Condition of Approved Fruits.
• ICA-14 – Pre-harvest Treatment and Inspection of Lychees.
• ICA-15 – Mature Green Condition of Passionfruit, Tahitian Limes, Black Sapotes and Tomatoes.
• ICA-20 – Pre-harvest Treatment and Inspection of Table Grapes.
• ICA-28 – Pre-harvest Treatment (Bait Spraying) and Inspection of Citrus.
• ICA-30 – Hard Condition of Avocados.
• ICA-34 – Pre-harvest Field Control and Inspection of Strawberries.
• ICA-41 – Vapour Heat Treatment of Mangoes.
• ICA-55 – Irradiation Treatment.

See the current domestic trade requirements.

• ISPM 28 Annex 05. PT 5 (2009): Irradiation treatment for Bactrocera tryoni.
• ISPM 28 Annex 07. PT 7 (2009): Irradiation treatment for fruit flies of the family Tephritidae (generic).
• ISPM 28 Annex 31. PT 31 (2017): Vapour heat treatment for Bactrocera tryoni on Mangifera indica.

• Application to amend Standard 1.5.3 to include irradiation as a phytosanitary measure for all fruit and vegetables (PDF, 5.20 MB)
• Application to amend Standard 1.5.3 Irradiation of Food of the Food Standards Code to apple, apricot, cherry, honeydew melon, nectarine, peach, plum, rockmelon, strawberry, table grape and zucchini using Irradiation as a Phytosanitary Measure (PDF, 393.87 KB)
• Application to amend Standard 1.5.3 Irradiation of Food of the Food Standards Code to include Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) and Capsicums (Capsicum annuum) using Irradiation as a Phytosanitary Measure (PDF, 344.16 KB)