Immediate suspension of all Dimethoate products

The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medical Authority (APVMA) has announced an immediate 12 month suspension of the use of All products containing dimethoate on many food crops.

Dimethoate is used
• as a pre-harvest and post-harvest insecticide to control many common insect pests in a wide range of vegetables and fruit crops, as well as on ornamentals and flowers;
• as an integral part of fruit fly control in many areas of Australia. It is currently used as a quarantine treatment on fruit and fruiting vegetables to eradicate Queensland Fruit Fly before interstate trade within Australia and export to New Zealand. In addition, it is used to treat produce from fruit fly areas into fruit fly free or non-endemic areas.

The suspension will last for 12 months while the Authority completes further assessments on the chemical. It prohibits:
• use of dimethoate on certain horticultural crops
• use of dimethoate on all food producing plants in the home garden
• supply and possession of dimethoate products unless they carry the new instructions for use.

Jan Davis, CEO of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, said today “All farmers should check for the new instructions for use of any dimethoate products they are using”.

The new use instructions and answers to frequently asked questions about the suspension are available on the APVMA website www.apvma.gov.au

Davis said that this poses a serious biosecurity risk to Tasmania’s clean and green status. The chemical is predominantly used in the control of fruit fly on the mainland.

“Tasmania is free of fruit fly – and we want to keep it that way. The risk of a fruit fly incursion will be heightened as dimethoate is the most effective available treatment. The Tasmanian biosecurity service will need to be extra vigilant to make sure there is no breach” she said.