AUSTRALIAN biosecurity authorities are monitoring a widespread outbreak of peanut smut disease in Argentina that could potentially ignite an import ban, Senate estimates hearing in Canberra have been told.
The Rural and Regional Affairs Committee recently examined the peanut smut disease issue thoroughly, with Department of Agriculture and Water Resources questioned by WA Liberal Senator Chris Back on the biosecurity risk and potential trade impacts.
Biosecurity Plant Division First Assistant Secretary Dr Marion Healy said peanut smut was a significant disease that originated from South America, coming from Bolivia and Brazil.
“We have known that the disease has been in Argentina since about the mid-1990s,” she said.
Dr Healy said peanut smut was a fungal disease, of the peanut fruit and seed which infected plants via spores that are usually in the soil or seeds.
She said Australia had never had it but it could potentially enter via raw peanuts - however processing would kill the disease.
“It is reasonably sensitive to heat so, like most smuts, it would be killed at around 50 or 60 degrees Centigrade, whereas processing happens at around 150 to 160 degrees Centigrade - it would be killed,” she said.
Dr Healy said the situation had recently changed in Argentina as the smut disease had become more widespread, which had raised the concerns of peanut producers, in Australia.
“For many years, we have had measures in place to manage biosecurity risks associated with peanuts,” she said.
“We were of the view, and remain of the view, that the measures that are in place will manage this risk.
“However, the spread of the disease in Argentina does suggest that there may be some change, or changing, of the biosecurity risk.
“We are in the process of looking at the scientific information about this particular smut and starting to review the pathway into Australia.”
Dr Healy said currently, Australia had import permits for peanut product coming in for processing from Argentina, Nicaragua and China and for seed for sowing from the US, India and New Zealand.
“The conditions that we have in place, we believe, should manage the biosecurity risk,” she said.
“Having said that, the decision about where a particular company wants to source its product from, obviously, is a commercial decision.
“Again, because the scientific literature is indicating that the incidence of the smut in Argentina is increasing, we think it is prudent to review the particular pathway from Argentina.
“I do not know the full history of why the processers have decided to bring peanuts in from other countries, but some of the anecdotal information is that there are periods of time when we do not produce enough peanuts in Australia to keep the processing facilities running at the level the companies want it to be.”
A report on peanut smut in Argentina published on ResearchGate in January this year said, following it first being reported in 1995, the disease was now present across the whole growing region in Argentina - approximately 345,000 hectares.
It said since Argentina was a major worldwide exporter of peanuts, it was of global consequence that peanut smut was better understood and effectively managed both to preserve the market and prevent further spread of disease.
At estimates, Dr Healy said the Department understood Argentina had moved into a management phase rather than an eradication phase, with “good agricultural-type practices” and some fungicides to manage the disease.
She also agreed it can’t be eradicated.
Senator Back asked what communication the Department was having with peanut producers in south-east Queensland, around Kingaroy, to assure them of the situation regarding the import risk associated with peanut smut.
Assistant Secretary Plant Import Operations Lois Ransom said it was important to engage with the peanut industry and processing sector around possible options to better manage the risk, if indicated.
Dr Healy said as part of the pathway review it was the Department’s intent to review offshore arrangements, particularly for Argentina's national plant protection organisation, but hadn’t yet visited the country or decided when that would occur.
“We do want to understand a little bit more around how widespread the disease is in Argentina and the measures that are being taken by the authorities there,” she said.
“The first piece that we will be looking at is when peanuts are actually being produced, and so: when is the most appropriate time for us to be viewing the growing and harvesting of the peanuts?
“We will be making that decision in the near future.”
Ms Ransom said biosecurity officials can inspect imports to see peanut smut disease which caused misshapen nuts and was visible in shelled nuts due to being powdery.
Department officials said it would also be up to the Queensland government to alert them if they had any concerns about the disease’s presence locally, which they would then want to investigate the risk level, before deciding to take some form of action.
Dr Healy said – in relation to the Queensland government – it was very important for all producers to be exercising strong on-farm biosecurity.
“Again, that would be one of the measures that producers should be taking to protect themselves from any pest and disease,” she said.