June 6, 2017
Federal Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd says Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce cannot intervene in the decision whether or not peanut imports from Argentina are banned or suspended.
This follows the revelation that a disease, peanut smut, is affecting most of Argentina’s peanut growing areas.
“We have seen increased reports of the fungal disease across Argentina’s growing region and the fact that we import 111,000 tonnes of peanuts each year from Argentina is concerning to say the least,” Mr O’Dowd said.
“I have recently been in contact with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, who, while unable to intervene in the process, is confident the Department of Agriculture is on top of identifying and managing the threat.
“The fact our peanut processing sector relies heavily on the imports from countries like Argentina makes this issue all the more complicated.
“A range of biosecurity measures exists to manage the threat of smut entering the country and I am confident that should the Department consider the level of biosecurity risks posed by Argentinian peanuts to be unacceptable, they will act to either prohibit or suspend the import of peanuts from Argentina and other countries where smut is known to be present.
“We as a government take biosecurity very seriously and we are keeping a close eye on our peanut industries.”
- Related article: PCA Calls For Cool Heads Over Imports
