SA Produce Markets to host dedicated biosecurity facility

The $50 million biosecurity facility will be located at the SA Produce Markets, Pooraka, and will provide inspection, quarantine and treatment of fruit and vegetables.

It is being funded with $9.8m from the federal government, $4.2m from the state government and $36m from industry but is expected to unlock an additional $100m in fresh produce exports within the next five years.

SA Produce Markets chief executive officer, Angelo Demasi, said at present, SA producers requiring access to these facilities had to send their produce to Brisbane or Melbourne, which added costs and time to the supply chain.

He said fruit fly outbreaks in recent years, including a Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak in the Pooraka region, had caused major disruptions to the supply chain.

"This facility will ensure we can continue to access the supply chain faster," he said.

"It will enable industry to introduce state of the art post-harvest treatment service with pressure cooling and treatment technology, vital for exporting South Australian produce globally.

"It's not just a facility but a major tool in our toolbox."

Mr Demasi said of the past 16 years, there was only one year without a fruit fly outbreak within the state, but this facility would mean fruit could be treated faster and cheaper to reduce the impacts of potential outbreaks.

He said with 65 per cent of the state's produce already coming to the SA Produce Markets, the site was the best location for the facility.

SA primary industries minister, Clare Scriven, said it was great to bring this technology to SA and reduce the reliance on sending produce interstate.

"Producers in SA will no longer need to send their fresh produce interstate to be treated prior to being sold, which means less costs for local producers," she said.

She said this access to cheaper treatments could also flow on to reducing prices for consumers.

Ms Scriven said even with this facility, restoring the Riverland to its pest-free area status remained a priority, with more funding being spent on sterile insect technologies as well.

The Riverland presently has 45 fruit fly outbreak areas.

Grower Joseph Ceravolo, Ashton, who grows a range of fruit including apples, pears, strawberries and cherries, said this facility would be a "game changer" for the industry.

"It can be a one-stop ship for all biosecurity needs, no more running around from one place to the next," he said.

"It will reduce the time spent transporting produce, so it can have a longer shelf life for our customers.

"It will also reduce our carbon footprint."

Fruit Producers SA CEO, Grant Piggott, who deals with apples and cherries, says this is an exciting opportunity for the state.

He said even without any outbreaks, there was still requirements from certain valuable markets to have produce treated, such as Vietnam and Thailand.

He said because of this, SA was losing out on some cherry markets to Qld and interstate, as they could get fruit available available faster.

Citrus SA chair, Mark Doecke, said the focus was still on eradicating fruit fly in the Riverland and regaining the PFA status.

"We will win, we will eradicate fruit fly from the Riverland," he said.

"For citrus this (facility) is a great backup option that will enable us to move our fruit.

"At the moment we don't have the facility in SA and logistics can be a challenge."

Summerfruit SA and stonefruit grower, Tim Greiger, said this would open up markets and reduce time spent dealing with protocols.

Federal agricultural minister Murray Watt said this was one of several projects aimed at managing the impact of fruit fly outbreaks.

Construction will begin on stage one in February, 2024, with it expected to process up to 50,000 pallets a year, with the stage two extension to bring this number to 145,000 pallets.

It is expected to create 108 jobs during construction and up to 172 ongoing jobs.

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