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Fresh Tomato Product Group update for November

2009-11-23

Market Access to Australia

The final conditions for the new programme for tomato and capsicum exports to Australia from New Zealand were announced and were effective on 22 October.

 

In short the conditions are as follows:

• Loose tomatoes:  2 options.  1: Production of loose tomatoes in accordance with a compliance programme which incorporates the psyllid code of practice, plus brushing of fruit in the packhouse.  2: Fumigation pre-export where mandatory pre-export fumigation with Methyl Bromide gas must be undertaken.
• Truss tomatoes: Fumigation is mandatory pre-export.  The PSTVd compliance programme must also be met.
• Capsicum: Fumigation is mandatory pre-export.

For Loose Tomatoes not being fumigated they must be: Produced under a systems approach in accordance with the “New Zealand Code of Practice for the Management of the Tomato/Potato Psyllid in Greenhouse Tomato and Capsicum Crops”.

 

The following requirements apply:

1.                  All loose tomatoes for export to Australia must be sourced from glasshouses/greenhouses or growers and packinghouses registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ). Grower lot number and packing house details must be included on the certification.

2.                  Produce must have undergone brushing to remove the live stages of the Potato Tomato Psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) prior to packing.

3.                  The Phytosanitary certificate (original document) accompanying each consignment must bear the following additional declaration statements that:

“The fruit in this consignment has been produced in accordance with the conditions governing entry of fruit of the Solanaceae family to Australia and inspected and found free of quarantine pests”

4.                   The commodity may be precleared in the country of origin by an AQIS officer.

5.                   The grower lot number and packing house details must be included on the certification.

More details are available from the HortNZ Office, www.tomatoesnz.co.nz or from Market Access Solutionz.

Pre-clearance is an option for any tomato or capsicum exports regardless of the option chosen and normal pre-clearance requirements apply.

 

Fresh Tomato Product Group will again be funding the services of Market Access Solutionz to manage and coordinate a pre-clearance programme to Australia.

 

Imports

In August imports were 1,024,424kgs with a CIF value of $2.63 million, compared to August 2008 with 500,855kgs and a CIF value of $1.49 million. The price per kilo has dropped approx 50 cents.

 

To the end of August 2009; i.e. for the period May to August 2,374,258kgs of tomatoes with a CIF value of $6.73million have been imported. For the same period to the end of August last year the volume was 2,135,397kgs with a CIF value of $6.23 million.

 

Product Group committee meets in mid October

The Fresh Tomato Product Group Committee met on 14 October. What follows is a summary of the individual member’s updates on the industry and the crops.

 

In Auckland winter has been fairly average.  Prices did not reach what had been hoped for but there were no major pest issues.  Growers have commented about botrytis being around but it appears to be under control. 

 

Although the overall volume of imports so far this winter has been about the same as last year there has been a much better flow and so they did not impact the market quite as much.  Progressive did their own importing this year which has had quite an impact on some of the independent importers. 

 

Pricing throughout September and October has been back to, and below, the historical five year average.  For some reason the South Island seemed to fare worse.

 

The recent increases in the market commission rates don’t appear to have made too much of a difference.  Container charges appear to be lower this year.  The cost of insurance appears to be an issue with rates constantly increasing.

 

On a positive note there have been no thrips this winter possibly due to heavy frosts.  But on the negative side there has been no sun lately and plants don’t look good so this will affect production over the next six weeks. 

 

Some committed growers have had good success with Vertiblast and Vertikil with no whitefly seen and virtually no psyllids.  While some time is required as it is difficult to set up and complicated to use its use has now been perfected.

 

Other growers report that business has been tough, especially earlier in winter but maybe coming right about now. It has been fortunate that yields have offset those prices.   

 

Turners & Growers, Gisborne has a new manager.  The previous manager has been managing the produce market in Gisborne for many many years, first starting when the market was owned by Corsons.  It is hoped that the new manager can get the locally grown tomatoes into the local Pak n’ Save. 

 

There have been no psyllids seen on the East Coast for a few months after the last autumn infestation but whitefly is around.  Colder temperature regimes in the winter have seen encarsia diminish and bumblebees shutting down.

 

Winter hasn’t been too bad in the top of the South island. The weather has been a little bit colder, whitefly numbers have been pretty good but two spots of psyllid found last week. The imports hurt a little bit but otherwise things are ticking along nicely and hopefully prices in the summer months stay up. 

 

The situation with prices, impacts of imports and the weather appears to have been similar in Canterbury.

 

Starting prices for the capsicum season are around average for the year. There had been a low demand initially which could be put down to either imports or the school holidays as traditionally the demand drops off at this time, however there had been even more impacts this year, though it is picking up now. 

 

There has been one report of the psyllid in Canterbury this year and a rumour of one other find. 

 

Cucumbers are just starting to get their heads closer to the surface but are still having a hard time.  Hydro lettuce growers have had their best winter with high prices because of hard frosts up north which severely affected outdoor lettuce production.   

 

Tuta absoluta

Not here in New Zealand (yet) but read on to discover something of the crop devastation it is causing in the Mediterranean & Europe.

 

The Tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a serious devastating pest of tomatoes. Larvae feed on all parts of tomato plants and can cause severe crop damage. Larvae produce large galleries in leaves, burrow into stalks, apical buds, and green and ripe fruits. Tuta absoluta could reduce up to 100% of a crop yield. The main host of this pest is tomato but this insect can also attack potato, aubergine, peppers and solanaceous weeds.

 

Tuta absoluta has been a pest of tomato in many South American countries since 1970. Recently, Tuta absoluta was detected in several locations in Europe and Mediterranean region causing serious concern to the future of tomato production around the Mediterranean. The presence of Tuta absoluta was reported for the first time at the end of 2006 on tomato crops in Spain. In 2008, Tuta absoluta was detected in several places in Algeria, and Morocco. 

 

Tuta absoluta is spreading very rapidly across many counties along the Mediterranean coast. This pest is now posing a serious threat on tomato production in this region.  In 2009 infestation of Tuta absoluta has been officially reported in several new countries: i.e. Italy, Tunisia, Malta, Libya, United Kingdom, Greece, and Switzerland.

 

The potential impact of Tuta absoluta is very high in protected and open field tomato cultivation. Tuta absoluta attacks, feeds and develops on all plant parts above ground. On leaves, larvae feed between the epidermal layers, causing irregular mines that may later become necrotic. Fruits can be attacked upon formation, and the galleries formed inside them can be infected by secondary pathogens causing fruit rot. This pest damage occurs throughout the entire growing cycle of tomatoes, destined for the fresh market and processing. The potential damage could lead up to 100% yield loss without control measure.