There is currently an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Indonesia. Due to this change in disease status, Indonesia will be removed from the department’s FMD-free country list.

To reduce the risk of a potential incursion and help Australia maintain its current FMD-free status the department has taken the decision to make changes to import conditions for goods imported from Indonesia.

Changes will apply to import conditions and permits for the following goods sourced from or manufactured in Indonesia:

• Animal and environmental samples for laboratory use
• Dairy, including:
  • cheese and butter
  • infant formula
  • protein powders and supplements
  • cheesecakes, cooked biscuits, cooked breads, cooked cakes or cooked pastries containing uncooked dairy fillings or toppings
  • other products containing greater than 10% dairy
• Meat jerky or biltong
• Peat (being black peat, peat moss, sphagnum peat moss or white peat)

 

The department will contact all permit holders affected by this change to provide further information about the impact.

FMD is a highly contagious viral disease of animals. It is one of the most serious livestock diseases. It primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals (those with divided hoofs), including cattle, buffalo, camels, sheep, goats, deer and pigs.

FMD virus is principally transmitted by direct contact between infected animals and susceptible animals. Transmission occurs via secretions and excretions such as exhaled air, saliva, ruptured vesicles, faeces, milk and semen.

FMD virus can also spread on wool, hair, grass, plant material, wind, or mud and/or manure on footwear, clothing, equipment and tyres.

An FMD outbreak in Australia would be devastating to our livestock industries through international trade losses, market disruptions and health and production losses.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has informed IFCBAA that the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) gateway (CCF) is currently experiencing problems with ICS External Access with EDI messages and as a result no EDI messages are being passed to ICS for processing.

The problem is being investigated as a matter of priority.

ABF apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

Kind regards,

IFCBAA Team

The Shanghai city lockdown has continued for almost a month with no end in sight as to when workers will be free to return to their workplaces.

While Shanghai port is claimed to be operating as normal, the fact is that there are very few trucks that are able to access the port and many factories have been closed for some 3-4 weeks.

Many vessel have been omitting Shanghai in an attempt to maintain scheduling however this action has increased vessel waiting times in Qingdao and Ningbo ports, now up to seven days.

Similar municipal closures are widespread across China, with Beijing being the latest major city to undergo mass COVID testing.

It has been reported that 57 out of China’s top 100 cities have relatively strict restrictions in place.

Goods that are the produce or manufacture of Russia or Belarus and left for direct shipment to Australia from a place of manufacture or warehouse in a country from which the goods were exported between 25 April 2022 and 24 October 2022 and are entered for home consumption in Australia within this period are no longer eligible for the general rate of customs duty in Schedule 3 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (Customs Tariff Act).

In-transit goods and goods on the water Goods are for direct shipment to Australia if they do not enter the commerce of another country prior to entry for home consumption in Australia. Therefore, where goods that are the produce or manufacture of Russia or Belarus have left from a place of manufacture or warehouse in a country from where the goods are exported before 25 April 2022 and have not been imported into another country prior to being entered for home consumption or warehousing in Australia, the additional duty rate of 35% will not be payable if these goods are entered for home consumption between 25 April 2022 and 24 October 2022.

Attachment:

ACN 2022_21 – New rates of customs duty for Russian and Belarusian goods.pdf

GPSM offices will be closed for Easter Holidays as below:

Friday 15th April: Office closed

Saturday 16th April: Office closed

Sunday 17th April: Office closed

Monday 18th April: Office closed

We shall resume normal operations on Tuesday 19th April, 2022.

Ports will continue to work vessels through the holiday period, our Transport Team will be in contact with customers regarding movement of any containers over the holidays.

Phase 6A , as of 12 July 2021, Full Container Load/Full Container Consolidated (FCL/FCX) containers that are packed in a khapra beetle target risk country and will be unpacked in a rural grain growing area of Australia (see attached postcode list) must be treated offshore using an approved treatment option. These measures apply to the above containers exported on or from 12 July 2021.

This measure has been expanded to further minimize the risk of the introduction and spread of khapra beetle to high-risk rural areas.

As part of this, Full Container Load/Full Container Consolidated (FCL/FCX) containers that are packed in a khapra beetle target risk country and will be unpacked in a rural nut growing postcode of Australia must be treated offshore using an approved treatment option. This requirement will only apply to containers exported on or after 15 December 2021.

The container must be:

• treated prior to packing, except if using methyl bromide fumigation
  • o If using methyl bromide fumigation, the container can be treated when empty or when packed (provided it complies with our requirements)
• treated within 21 days prior to export
• accompanied by appropriate certification.

Failure to comply with these requirements will result in the export of the container upon arrival in Australia.

Important: The target of these treatments is the container and not the goods/commodity being shipped within the container. However, the goods may also need to be treated offshore under Phase 3 of the urgent actions.

Attachments:

• List of target risk countries for host of khapra beetle
• Khapra Urgent Actions_ Rural Grain Growing Postcodes
• Flowchart Phase 6A – SEA CONTAINER MEASURES FOR KHAPRA BEETLE

Please note that due to the high winds in Sydney Port Botany area at present that Empty Container Parks are not accepting return or pick-up of empty containers.

This will affect many operations today and our Transport Team will keep affected clients updated on the operational issues and solutions.