Tomatoes generic

Australian tomatoes were temporarily banned in New Zealand late last week when five of seven samples were found to have no residues of the chemical dimethoate, which is used to treat fruit fly and is required for Australian tomato imports.

Imports were suspended until the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) had discovered the cause, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Biosecurity New Zealand as saying.

The ban would remain in place until AQIS came up with another treatment method or achieved the results New Zealand required, a spokesman for the organisation said, adding that AQIS and Biosecurity NZ were in daily discussions.

New Zealand tomatoes were only allowed back into Australia two weeks ago following new quarantine procedures to control the ‘zebra chip’ bacterial disease.

Australian imports account for about 8 per cent of tomatoes sold in New Zealand. Shipments  of 3,000 tonnes from the Australian state of Queensland in 2007 were worth A$9m.