Agrichemical residue monitoring program for Australian citrus exports – stage 2 (CT15016)

What was it all about?

Running from 2016 to the end of 2018, this project worked to ensure exporters had effective residue risk-management strategies in place and continued, improved and expanded on the Australian Citrus Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program (ACPRMP).

The ACPRMP commenced in 2011 as a collaborative arrangement between industry and the Australian Government – involving the testing of Australian citrus for a range of chemical residues and potential contaminants, to ensure the meeting of regulatory requirements in domestic and international markets.

Under CT15016, citrus exporters were provided the opportunity to have citrus samples analysed for the presence of agrichemical residues. The freight and administrative costs were covered by the project, and the costs of analyses were covered by the participating business.

The project team reported that for each season of the project, approximately 400 samples were submitted for analysis. A high level of compliance with Australian and overseas maximum residue limits was seen, which the project team acknowledged as “highlighting that Australian citrus growers and packers adopt good agricultural practices with responsible use of agrichemicals”. Through this work, they said, the industry gained a greater consciousness and awareness of maximum residue limit requirements. Top project outcomes included the maintenance of market access into key markets and also access to new agrichemicals, with the system being used to support new product regulatory approvals for registrations and minor use permits.