Merry Christmas from the KVH team. We wish you a safe and relaxing holiday period with your loved ones. The KVH office will be closed from Monday 23 December 2024 and will reopen at 8.30am on Monday 6 January 2025. If any urgent issues arise during this period, please feel free to get in touch by email or report unusual pest or disease symptoms on kiwifruit or vines online here. We will be regularly monitoring these channels and will respond as soon as possible. For urgent reporting of any unusual pests or diseases, the Biosecurity New Zealand hotline (0800 80 99 66) operates 24/7 over the holidays as per usual.

KVH’s submission on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act (as completed and submitted on Friday 13 December) can be read here. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is leading the review consultation process and our comprehensive submission on behalf of the kiwifruit industry addresses most of the proposed changes, as these have a bearing on how the biosecurity system will operate in the future. Significant areas for our sector that we have commented on relate to funding and compensation, readiness and response, and long-term management. MPI will now analyse submissions, publish a summary, and make recommendations to the Minister for Biosecurity. It is anticipated Cabinet will consider final policy proposals in 2025. Thank you to those who have discussed the submission with us. We welcome any further questions or feedback about the process at info@kvh.org.nz. Visit the MPI Biosecurity Act review webpage for detailed proposed amendments information Read more about how we developed our submission

In the last Bulletin we mentioned the consultation underway on several proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act 1993. Our draft submission is now available to view here. We welcome the opportunity for further discussion so please do get in touch at info@kvh.org.nz by 13 December when the submission is due if you have questions. The consultation and our submission have been part of our presentation at the recent Grower Roadshows too, and we thank those of you who have already spoken with us about it. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is leading this process and our comprehensive submission on behalf of the kiwifruit industry will address most of the proposed changes, as these have a bearing on how the biosecurity system will operate in the future. Some of the proposals are significant to our sector, particularly those in the sections about funding and compensation, readiness and response, and long-term management.

The holidays are almost here and with them come extra biosecurity risks posed by unpacking Christmas goodies and luggage. Remember, and be sure to remind family and friends, to be on the lookout for unwanted guests of the “bug” kind and carefully unpack and check any packages or bags from overseas for hitchhiking pests. Open parcels in a closed room and if you find anything unusual, catch it, photograph it, and report it. Looking across previous years it is estimated that around 3,400 items of undeclared fresh produce will be seized from passengers over the Christmas period alone! Kiwifruit growers and other passengers associated with primary sectors travelling over the Christmas and New Year period may find they experience more interventions when returning to New Zealand. This is because they potentially pose a greater biosecurity risk based on the likelihood they may have visited offshore orchards and farms during their travels. KVH has produced a useful one-page poster outlining everything growers can do to help reduce biosecurity risk and what you can expect through border control when returning home.

With the upcoming Christmas holiday period, the last date for Hill Labs Psa testing will be Tuesday 24 December 2024. The last date for Unusual Symptom sample processing at Plant Diagnostics will be Friday 20 December (for already received samples). Services will resume at both labs from Monday 6 January 2025. Please contact KVH at info@kvh.org.nz if urgent testing is potentially required during the Christmas closure.

Earlier this week KiwiNet members from across post-harvest organisations, and representatives from Farmlands, Horticentre and Fruitfed, met with KVH for an industry biosecurity and readiness update. This included a review of the KiwiNet purpose and ongoing value to the industry, 10 years on from the initial launch in 2014. As a theme setter Lisa Gibbison presented the findings from her recently completed Kellogg project “Who do growers trust in a time of crisis?”. A key message was the value of developing and maintaining networks across time as these build the trust that knits people together in times of crisis. KVH and Zespri were seen as trusted industry leaders. Matt Dyck, KVH Biosecurity Manager outlined the interaction between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and support organisations in the event of a biosecurity response, and the commonalities between readiness training for biosecurity and the newer industry Emergency Response Management (ERM) framework in which KVH also has a key role. Updates on our industry surveillance projects, a whirlwind global overview of biosecurity challenges, and a short update on unusual symptoms highlighted both the emerging threats and the valuable research projects and collaborations that are ongoing in the biosecurity space. More information about KiwiNet can be found here. A copy of Lisa’s Kellogg research project and presentations from the workshop will be posted on the KVH website shortly.