Update: Click here for views about the determination from Australia's produce exporters.

A recent decision from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will make life easier for many Australian fruit exporters, after the authority announced it recognized several growing regions in the country as free of certain pests.

The service determined New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria as free of Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) and the state of Western Australia as free of Queensland fruit fly.

In a notice on the Federal Register, APHIS said the benefit of the declaration was that treatment for either fruit fly would be less stringent than for areas where both pests are present.

"For instance, cherries from Australia that are imported into the United States must undergo cold treatment for Queensland fruit fly and must be treated with methyl bromide for Medfly," APHIS said.

"However, with the recognition of fruit fly areas as described in this notice, no area of Australia is home to both Medfly and Queensland fruit fly.

"Therefore, cherries imported from Australia will only have to be treated with cold treatment if originating from an area where Queensland fruit fly is present or be treated with methyl bromide if originating from an area where Medfly is present."

The move follows on from a commodity import evaluation document (CIED) published in September, 2011, relating to information provided from the Australian Government.

"Freedom from Medfly outside the State of Western Australia has been established by results from ongoing monitoring with permanent Medfly traps, as part of the national trapping grid," APHIS said on the notice.

"Australia has not trapped a Medfly in an eastern Australian State since 1953 in Melbourne.

"After a single Medfly was detected in the Katherine area in Northwest Australia in 1994, eradication activities were initiated and no further detections have occurred."

Despite the status announcements, APHIS said it would continuously monitor commodities from Australia with port-of-entry inspections to give "robust protection" from fruit flies, along with the enforcement of mitigation measures for those exporters wishing to ship to the United States.

"Although APHIS is recognizing portions of Australia as free of Medfly and another portion of Australia as free of the Queensland fruit fly, host material (fruit) from these areas of Australia would still require mitigation, typically quarantine treatment, before importation into the United States," APHIS said.

"Commodities from the areas of Australia where Medfly is the only pest of concern would require only mitigations for Medfly.

"Likewise, commodities originating from areas in Australia where Queensland fruit fly is the only pest of concern would require only mitigations for Queensland fruit fly."

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