Australian horticultural exporters have a serious disadvantage compared to their Chilean counterparts when it comes to quarantine inspections costs, website Abc.net.au reported.

Australian Horticultural Exporters Council deputy chair David Minnis, told the website Australian exporters had to pay around AUD$1,000 (US$973) for a fruit container bound for Taiwan, while Chile only had to pay AUD$380 (US$370).

"The direct comparison is we're two and a half to three times more expensive in export clearance in Australia, compared to our Chilean counterparts," Minnis was quoted as saying.

Australian Horticultural Exporters Association (AHEA) CEO Maxwell Summers, told www.freshfruitportal.com the situation has become 'prohibitive' for the industry.

"The government has introduced full cost recovery so it’s now double the cost for export inspection. For a 40-foot container last year you were looking at a AUD$500 (US$486) inspection but now that’s shot up to AUD$900 (US$876)," he said.

"The government is very unsympathetic, saying that they shouldn’t subsidize the cost of our business, but we're paying AUD$270 (US$263) an hour to have an inspection team come in for a few hours, plus additional fees and charges - it's prohibitively expensive."

According to Chile's Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG), Chilean quarantine inspection charges on a per carton basis depending on size, at around US$0.0596 for a carton smaller than 5kg, while larger cartons (10-20kg) are inspected at a rate of US$0.066 per carton.

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