What Happens to your imported Goods

Every year, thousands of containers of cargo arrive in Fiji from all over the world. Any could potentially introduce an exotic (foreign) pest and disease into Fiji. The pests, weeds, seeds, and other unwanted organisms may hitch-hike undetected with the imported goods, either on or in the shipping container, or in the goods themselves. Pests such as
the giant African snail or the Asian gypsy moth not only destroy our environment and agricultural industry but can also affect our agricultural exports and economy.
As such the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) has a number of requirements that ensure the compliance pathway for cargo arriving in Fiji and preventing entry of exotic pests and diseases into Fiji. Biosecurity attends to the clearance of cargo for com- mercial importation, personal importation including personal effects and household effects to Fiji, through sea and air including international mails and parcel posts.

Biosecurity procedures for sea containers

Declaration in cargo manifest

the cargo manifest declaration is one of the most important and the first requirement for im- porting cargo as it helps BAF to conduct risk profiling on the manifest to ascertain which cargo needs biosecurity inspection. This declaration is sent 48 hours prior to the ves- sel’s arrival and contains information such as container number, origin (where the container was packed), name and address of exporter and importer and a complete and accurate de- scription of the contents, including packaging and treatment certificate (if applicable) etc.

Inspection of containers

shipping con- tainers are essentially transport mediums for exotic pests, diseases and other containments such as soil etc. Insects can hitchhike to Fiji attached to the sides or surfaces of containers or located in small corners or tiny cracks on a shipping container. Hence inspection of the exterior of the container is conducted first for pest infestation and or contamination by soil while the containers are being unloaded at the wharf. If a pest or contamination is found, it is removed or treated before the container can proceed for further inspection or clearance.

Inspection of goods

Biosecurity offic- ers also inspect the goods, packing and the interior of the container for pests and other contamination such as soil. The inside of the container is also a very good hideout for pest insects as well as small animals. On one such occasion biosecurity officer found a live cat inside a sea container.
In addition to inspecting the containers, the biosecurity officers also inspects that im- ported goods and ensures that the goods are safe and free from harmful pests and diseas- es. The officers verify the relevant documents required to import the particular product to Fiji such as the import permit, Phytosanitary certificate for import of all plant and plant products and veterinary certificate for import of all animal and animal products, treatment certificate, and transhipment permits etc before clearing the consignment.
Import permit ensures that biosecurity risks are managed offshore. If the import con- ditions outlined in the import permit issued by BAF is not complied with and all required documents are not present then BAF will take appropriate biosecurity action which could
be detaining the goods, treating or destroying it. However, if the import conditions are met then the goods would be released. Biosecu- rity treatment for imported goods includes fumigation, steam cleaning and spraying.

Inspection of timbers used in packing

BAF also requires that all timber used for packing in shipping containers is International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) certified. ISPM 15 is an International Phytosanitary Measure developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that directly addresses the need to treat wood materials of a thick- ness greater than 6mm, used to ship products between countries. Its main purpose is to prevent the international transport and spread of disease and insects that could negatively affect plants or ecosystems.
Wood packaging material such as pallets, crates, dunnages etc could contain some of the world’s most dangerous beetles such as Khapra beetle, Asian longhorned beetle or Wood Borer and if introduced in Fiji it could have devastating effects on our environment.

Inspection of empty sea containers

A great majority of containers used in Fiji for exports are either owned by the maritime shipping companies or container leasing companies and as such a large number of containers used to exports goods from Fiji return to the country as empty containers.
BAF also inspects these empty containers for pests as the empty containers lying idle in importing countries become a good hideout for insects and small animals that can eas- ily stowaway to Fiji when these containers return home.
The exterior of all empty containers returning to Fiji from importing countries are inspected for pests such as insects and snails or soil while it is being unloaded from the vessel while internal inspection of the container for insects/ seeds/grains/timber and soil is done after the container has been offloaded.
If the container is clean and not infested with pest or contaminated then it is released to its owners, however, if it is infested or contaminated then it is washed and cleaned thoroughly or fumigated with methyl bro- mide before being released.

Vehicles and machinery

All machineries and vehicles entering Fiji are also inspected by BAF for soil, plant material, insects or other contamination and if contamination is found then the machines and the vehicle will be washed, steam cleaned or fumigated with methyl bromide before release.