ANPC and ISC joint submission on biosecurity import requirements for guava fruit from Taiwan
Last month the ANPC and the Invasive Species Council filed a joint submission in response to the Biosecurity Import Requirements Draft Report issued with Biosecurity Advice 2025-P03, which recommends the allowing of importation of fresh guava fruit (Psidium guajava) from Taiwan. The Draft Report excludes Myrtle Rust (Austropuccinia psidii) from risk assessment on the grounds that it is not present in Taiwan.
We argue that this finding was not well justified – a concern validated by the confirmed occurrence of Myrtle Rust in Taiwan, reported after the Draft Report’s publication. Although DAFF now proposes to
conduct a risk assessment of Myrtle Rust, in the submission we provide a critique of the original decision to exclude Myrtle Rust from assessment, as well as recommendations for revision and to seek advice from experts in the National Myrtle Rust Working Group prior to publishing.
To read the full submission, click here.
