We write to inform you that on Monday 6th June 2022, the Federal Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment released a Draft Import Risk Assessment report for a trade request from South Korea for market access for Rockmelon and Oriental Melon into Australia.

The DAWE initiated this risk analysis because in 2019 Korea requested market access for greenhouse-grown fresh oriental melon and rockmelon fruit. The assessment was carried out as a risk analysis for the purposes of Section 174 of the Biosecurity Act 2015. The Departments biosecurity experts have completed a preliminary assessment of the pests of potential biosecurity concern associated with oriental melon and rockmelon fruit from Korea and have arrived at a high-level assessment of:

• the pests of concern are the same, or of the same pest groups, as those pests that have been assessed previously for other horticultural goods.
• there are appropriate risk management measures already established for these pests or pest groups.

More information on the process, including background documents and other findings are available at the Assessment Home Page: https://www.awe.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/policy/risk-analysis/plant/melons-from-korea

Below are two summary documents for your consideration, and these are much shorter than the 219 page draft report. These are a Fact Sheet and Pathway Diagram.

Pathway Diagram – Melons from Korea

Draft report – Fact sheet – Melons from Korea

We are currently working with the Department on the development of an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, which we will look to release ASAP. If there are any questions you wish to have included in the FAQ document, please reach out and we will put these to the Department through this process.

We also have a stakeholder update and discussion session planned with the Department officials at 12:30pm AEST on Friday 1st July 2022. If you have interest in attending this meeting (via videoconference) then please contact Johnathon Davey, Melons Australia as soon as possible at execofficer@melonsaustralia.org.au

The public consultation period closes on Friday 5th August 2022, and Melons Australia is look for industry feedback to include within our formal submission to the Department’s public comment process. If industry wishes to discuss the content, or provide comment then please contact us by no later than COB Friday 29th July 2022 so we can finalise and get the necessary approval of our submission prior to the deadline.

Please reach out to Johnathon or Joanna Embry (Melons Australia’s Biosecurity Officer – biosecurity@melonsaustralia.org.au) at any time to discuss or provide input.

Thank you for your engagement and ongoing support, we look forward to hearing from you.