7/9/2020

To our Valued Customers,

 

BR International would like to remind all importers that the 2020-21 Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) season has now commenced with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) having outlined requirements for this year.

 

The main change this season is that three additional countries have been added to the list with Portugal, Ukraine and Moldova now being included as target risk countries.

 

Please note the below important information regarding this new season of BMSB :-

 

1-Seasonal measures for 2020-21 BMSB – applies to:

 

-certain goods manufactured in, or shipped from, target risk countries, and/or

-vessels that berth at, load or tranship from target risk countries

 

2-Season dates:

 

BMSB requirements relate to cargo on vessels that berth at, or tranship from, target risk countries, on or after September 1, 2020 and that arrive in Australian territory by May 31, 2021 (inclusive). Airfreight consignments are not affected.

 

3-Goods:

 

Any target risk or high risk goods which are manufactured in, or shipped, from the target risk countries will be subject to BMSB seasonal measures. The scope of goods under consideration has not changed from last season. Please feel free to contact your BRi customs team should you require information on whether your goods will be affected. All target high risk goods will require mandatory treatment and all target risk goods will be subject to increased onshore intervention via random inspections.

 

4-Target risk countries:

Albania	Andorra	Armenia	Austria
Azerbaijan	Belgium	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bulgaria
Canada	Croatia	Czechia	France
Georgia	Germany	Greece	Hungary
Italy	Japan*	Kosovo	Liechtenstein
Luxembourg	Montenegro	Moldova	Netherlands
North Macedonia	Portugal	Romania	Russia
Serbia	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain
Switzerland	Turkey	Ukraine	USA

*heightened vessel surveillance is the only measure applied to Japan

 

In addition, the department continues to review the changing risk status of BMSB and will also be undertaking random onshore inspections on goods from other emerging risk countries to verify pest absence in goods.

 

The following countries have been identified as “emerging risk countries” for the 2020-21 BMSB risk season which means they may be selected for random onshore inspection: Belarus, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Kazakhstan and Chile. The department are also monitoring other countries through a lower rate of random inspection. These include all remaining European countries, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Argentina, South Africa and Uruguay.

 

5-Mandatory offshore treatment for break bulk consignments, open top containers and flat racks

 

Mandatory offshore treatment by an approved provider is required for target high risk goods shipped as break bulk cargo, including goods shipped in open top container or on flat rack containers. It’s important that you pass on this information to your suppliers if they intend to ship using these methods, as any target high risk goods requiring mandatory offshore treatment that arrive untreated, or treated by an unapproved treatment provider in a target risk country, will be directed for export on arrival.

 

6-Container packing

 

It is important to note that un-treated containers arriving in Australia are checked prior to treatment in Australia, to ensure they are packed in a manner which will enable fumigant gases to effectively treat the goods. Containers which are deemed to be too tightly packed may be directed for unpack and treatment at a specialist facility or re-export which will result in long delays and increased costs for the importer. This issue incurred significant additional costs last season so it is strongly advised that all containers are packed with appropriate space left that will enable effective treatment and any plastic wrapping or other packaging used must provide adequate access to the goods for the treatment to be effective.

 

7-Treatment options

 

The approved treatment options for BMSB risk are heat treatment, methyl bromide fumigation and sulphuryl fluoride fumigation. All offshore treatment providers in target risk countries must first register and be approved by the department. All treatment providers approved last season will also need to be re-registered with the department for this current season.

 

Should you have any queries please feel free to contact your BRi Customs Department.

 

Keeping you updated,

BRi Customs Team

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