Business
Thriving Taro Export Business Under Threat
Mites intercepted in NZ could jeopardise trade
Taro exports earn Pacific Islands suppliers more than NZ$10 million a year. But minute taro mites intercepted by New Zealand biosecurity staff last year could jeopardise what is a thriving trade in the region.
New Zealand alone imported NZ$8.4 million worth of taro last year to accommodate the consumer demand of its burgeoning 231,801 Pacific population. Estimates point to that population doubling in a decade or two-and with it the prospect of healthy export earnings.
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Proximity and large Pacific populations make New Zealand and Australia opportune markets. Between them they import 9000 tonnes a year.
Japan is said to have imported 80,000 tonnes of the fresh equivalent and 30,000 tonnes went to the United States. Singapore and Hong Kong are said to have purchased smaller volumes.
Fiji’s most recent export figures show F$8 million worth of taro was exported to New Zealand last year, a little more than F$3 million went to Australia, F$2.7 million worth was exported to the United States and F$33,744 to Canada.
While the prospects bode well for the fragile economies of the Pacific, globalisation and World Trade Organisation criteria demand stringent biosecurity controls on all incoming and outgoing borders. Quarantine restrictions are strict and closely monitored particularly for perishable goods.
Will this minute taro mite cripple the taro trade as the taro leaf blight did the Samoan economy?
Much will depend on the findings of a six-month study on taro mite conducted by Landcare Research NZ Ltd in association with the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission. The study has been funded by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
At least two strains of Rhizoglyphus minutus are currently under the microscopes of scientists at Auckland’s Landcare Research Ltd in a NZ$45,000 study programme that will determine if the taro mite poses a serious biosecurity concern for New Zealand’s horticultural industry.
Relatively little is known of the identity and biology of Rhizoglyphus minutus, a microscopic organism, which attaches itself to taro roots and is known to multiply while in storage.
The mite is a regulated quarantine pest in New Zealand and new trade environment and requirements of the World Trade Organisation have made it necessary for countries to update pest and disease lists and make these findings available to trading partners.
A world leading mite specialist, Dr Zhi Qiang Zhang, is among a team of scientists at Landcare investigating the identity of the taro mite and whether it is a hazard to New Zealand’s floral bulbs and onion industry.
“We don’t know if it is already here (New Zealand) or not. This mite certainly is originally from the Pacific Islands and we don’t know if it is in New Zealand as well.
“It was discovered some time ago with a brief description. Whether it is a problem we don’t know. There are other species we know of that are pest mites and cause a lot of problems for root crops like onions and flower bulbs. For onions we know the damage is very serious. They attack onions and make them rot fairly quickly and the yield can be significantly reduced,” Zhang said.
The commissioner of the South Pacific Trade and Investment Commission (SPTIC) based in Auckland, Parmesh Chand said the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture has been intercepting taro mites from Fiji and other Pacific Islands countries since early 2001.
It has meant the tuberous corms, a significant essential in the Pacific diet, has had to undergo fumigation with Methyl Bromide on arrival in Auckland, adding extra costs to the importers and reducing the shelf life of the taro. This may be the last year that Methyl Bromide is used in the fumigation of produce.
Auckland importer Tropical Foods Limited (TFL) airfreights and ships in at least 13 container loads of taro from Fiji every week. Most of them are distributed to Progressive and Pak N Save supermarkets as well as green grocers around New Zealand.
Owner Bobby Kumaran says the only thing they can do is compulsory fumigation which kills the shelf life of the taro.
Mandatory fumigation will pile on added charges and fumigation costs of $NZ200 which may have to be borne by the exporter and the consumer, he said. The penalty fee for each specimen found is $NZ78.75.
The average shelf life of taro from harvest to when it reaches the shop shelves in New Zealand is about three weeks and they are sold within the week. With fumigation, the shelf life of taro is halved.
Chand says the taro mite research undertaken by scientists at Landcare will allow Pacific Islands suppliers to take the necessary steps to protect their trade.
“The Landcare study will assess the implications of the infestations on New Zealand’s horticultural industry. The results will also provide a basis for quarantine and trade decisions by New Zealand and the Pacific Islands countries.”
Another part of the project is to provide a pest risk assessment which the Secretariat of the Pacific Community/Fiji will submit to New Zealand. This part is being done by a very experienced crop and food scientist, Dr Nicholas Martin.
Findings from the Landcare Research study are expected to be tabled at the third taro symposium to be held in Nadi in May.
The symposium will review progress in taro research, analyse needs and priorities, develop a strategy for future work in taro research and development, explore new ways to use genetic diversity and improve taro quality and production, and stimulate international collaboration, information exchange and networking.
Its organisers are the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Food and Agriculture Organisation and the French agricultural research organisation, CIRAD.
The symposium will emphasise international collaboration, information exchange and networking with a view to developing a strategy for future work in taro research and development.
Participants will include researchers, academics, farmers, extension agents, social scientists, development practitioners and private sector personnel.
Much of the discussions will focus on themes such as taro diversity, ethnobotany and conservation, germplasm collecting, characterisation and evaluation, measuring genetic diversity and erosion, conservation, safe exchange, traditional knowledge and ethnobotanical studies.
