February 2021
There are fears an outbreak of Queensland fruit fly in
South Australia could be devastating for the
horticulture industry, with some growers unable to move
stone fruit during their harvest period.
According to the ABC Riverland, Fruit fly larvae were
found in a backyard apricot tree in Renmark West on
Tuesday, leading to Primary Industries Minister David
Basham declaring an outbreak.
A 15-kilometre exclusion zone that includes Berri, Yamba,
Renmark, Paringa, Monash and Calperum Station has been
set up around the site.
Varying levels of restrictions apply to the movement of
fruit inside the zone, with growers encouraged not to
move any product off their properties until the scale of
the problem can be better judged.
A smaller 1.5km outbreak area covering Renmark, Renmark
West, Renmark South and Crescent has also been declared.
SA is the only mainland state with fruit fly-free status
and there is a longstanding ban in place on interstate
visitors bringing fresh fruit and fruiting vegetables
into the state, as well as intrastate travellers
bringing fruit into the Riverland region.
Riverland growers are in the peak of stone fruit season
and are expecting a bumper crop while they battle to
cope with the labour shortage brought on by the COVID-19
pandemic.
SA’s horticulture industry is worth $1.3 billion and the
Riverland is the state’s biggest fruit-producing region.
Summerfruit SA chair Jason Size said the recent outbreak
could be a major financial blow for producers.
"For some growers it could mean the end of their
business, in terms of finding it really hard to move
product," he said.
"So it can be very serious from that point of view and
the ramification from that is unemployment.
He added the proximity of the outbreak to the Renmark
township was particularly concerning to the industry.
"This is the first time in a long time, if ever, that
it’s been in the Renmark township, so it’s going to be
very challenging going forward because growers are going
into unknown territory," he said.
"There are a lot more households, there are a lot more
people confined in that sort of area — so it makes it
more challenging, but not impossible."
The State Government is gauging whether the outbreak has
spread to other properties.
The active outbreak and exclusion zones are expected to
stay in place until at least March 15, although this
could be extended if more wild flies or larvae are
discovered.
Minister David Basham said Department of Primary
Industries and Regions (PIRSA) staff would be stationed
throughout the region to instruct growers on how to deal
with the outbreak.