New Zealand is once again free of Queensland fruit fly (QFF). Biosecurity New Zealand ended its Northcote fruit fly operations on 31 January and lifted restrictions on the movement of fruit and vegetables on Auckland's North Shore.
Queensland fruit fly is a serious pest, known to significantly damage a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Fruit flies are considered the greatest biosecurity threat to our summerfruit industry. Our principal risk from QFF is market access, that is our export markets closing their borders to us when QFF is detected in New Zealand. Thankfully our long-established system of seasonal monitoring across New Zealand, and our (now well practised) response process, mitigates against undue export market response when QFF is detected here.
The series of detections last year certainly put the horticulture industry on high alert and it has been especially important to have a well-managed response, considering our short harvest season and highly perishable produce, where any delays would be detrimental to our fruit quality.
Summerfruit NZ actively participated in this response with two staff members assisting MPI with the response efforts in Auckland for two weeks in March last year. This was a fantastic experience for us, working mostly on fruit collection and trap inspections. The response provided great insight into how a biosecurity response is managed, the key activities, and the huge logistics required to keep QFF out of our country. It also became apparent that with an ongoing response like this one, finding resources to assist out in the field was a challenge at times. One of the key outcomes of our biosecurity strategy is to develop the capabilities within our industry to be able to effectively assist during an incursion affecting summerfruit. We encourage our growers to participate with Summerfruit NZ in future responses in order to build up these capabilities. 
The total cost of the response has been estimated by MPI to be around $18 million. As GIA partners, our specific commitments are set out under the Fruit Fly Operational Agreement (FFOA). In this context, Summerfruit NZ not only assisted out in the field, but also participated in response governance meetings in Wellington. Summerfruit NZ’s financial contribution is, as agreed under the FFOA, likely to be around $116,000.
Biosecurity New Zealand has expressed its appreciation and gratitude for the ongoing support that was provided by the horticulture industry, Northcote residents and businesses, in what has been a lengthy response. Queensland fruit fly could not have been eradicated without the strong commitment and help of the community and stakeholders.
To read MPI's press release, click here.