Shipping containers leaving Fiji for Australia and New Zealand will undergo the Sea Container Hygiene System (SCHS) starting in April to ensure they arrive pest free.

Fiji’s adoption of the SCHS means both countries won’t have to store containers to perform onshore inspections and cleaning, resulting in costs savings for the industry valued at around AUD$6-9 million per year.

On average, it costs about AUD$200-300 for a container to be inspected, said Rama Karri, Acting Director of Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR).

He said out of every 100 containers sent from Fiji to Australia, at least seven are found to have high levels of soil contamination resulting in all containers from Fiji required to be inspected stringently on arrival at Australian ports. 

Every year, Australia receives around 2.5 million container imports from over 200 ports. Karri said soil contamination represented 74 per cent of the breakdown of biosecurity risk material (BRM).

However, having the SCHS in place, means better management of biosecurity risks associated with sea containers at the port of landing.  

“If the risks are managed here [Fiji], there’ll be no need for additional control abroad. Risks managed offshore provide the highest level of protection for Australia,” he said.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries Fresh Produce Imports Pacific Market Access Senior Advisor Nacanieli Waqa said the SCHS is dictated by compliance.

“If they’ve been compliant, the minimum inspection rate is 5 per cent. But when they become non-compliant, we resume the 100 per cent intervention.”

Fiji would not require intervention or inspection on up to 95 per cent of containers subject to ongoing compliance.

Exporting companies in Fiji were encouraged by the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program to coordinate using the SCHS to improve existing market access and meet international market requirements.