Implementation of revised import conditions for tomato seed for sowing

As notified under G/SPS/N/AUS/455/Add.1, the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the department) has finalised the pest risk analysis for Pepino mosaic virus and pospiviroids associated with tomato seeds.
On 23 June 2021, the department will implement the recommendations of the pest risk analysis:

1.  Removal of testing requirement for Tomato planta macho viroid:Imported tomato seeds will no longer need to be tested for Tomato planta macho viroid as this pathogen is not considered to be associated with the seed pathway.

2.  Reduced regulation for wild tomato species:Seeds of the following wild tomato species will no longer need to be tested for Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV), Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), Columnea latent viroid (CLVd), Pepper chat fruit viroid (PCFVd), Tomato apical stunt viroid (TASVd) and Tomato chlorotic dwarf viroid (TCDVd):Solanum chilenseSolanum chmielewskiiSolanum parviflorumSolanum peruvianumSolanum pimpinellifoliumThe above seed species are not known to be a pathway for the listed pathogens.3.  Increased sample size requirements for Pepino mosaic virus testing:Testing of Solanum lycopersicum seed lots for Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) will need to be performed using a sample of 20,000 seeds. This replaces the current 3,000 seed sample requirement for Pepino mosaic virus.Testing for Pepino mosaic virus must occur using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR), either prior to export or on-arrival at a department-approved laboratory in Australia.
Transitional arrangement for revised PePMV testing requirement:
>The increase in sample size for PepMV testing will apply to any seed lot tested on or after 23 June 2021. As a transitional arrangement, any seed lot tested and found negative for PepMV before 23 June 2021 can continue to be imported under previous conditions using a testing sample of 3,000 seeds, subject to complying with specified conditions.Further information on the upcoming changes in import conditions are outlined within Australia's Biosecurity Import Conditions (BICON) system:https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0/ImportConditions/Questions/EvaluateCase?elementID=0000098371&elementVersionID=232. Once published, the revised import conditions will be made available within BICON.