Taking fruit and vegetables into the Riverland

Tony Bev · Guru

Quarantine at Yamba VIC/SA border

Whenarewethere · Guru

Last year I went through there & they went through the car with a fine tooth comb. All I had onboard was diabetes inducing processed food!

erad · Guru

There are plant & vege check stations at Border Village (if going into WA) and Ceduna if coming from WA), and Port Melbourne (if going to Tasmania). You are not allowed to take fresh fruit & veges into WA, SA and Tasmania. You are also not allowed to transport other products eg grape vines into SA or Victoria, and honey into WA. This website (and others) outlines the restrictions:

www.interstatequarantine.org.au/travellers/quarantine-zones/

Relax-n · Guru

Further info.....

Some states also have restrictions moving fresh produce / product within the state

Most info centres have quarantine booklets, even if kept in an out of the way spot. The booklet gives info on what generally can or cant be moved from state to state

It also has the state phone numbers to call if you are in any doubt

We always have ours in the van. Should be a must for any traveller

Nevd · Senior Member

Yamba is pretty full on. We went through with a friend. He declared a tomato at the actual checkpoint, thinking he could bin it there. No, you have to get rid of it at the bin BEFORE the checkpoint. When he got home a couple of months later, there was a fine of over $300, plus 2 reminders with a time penalty on each.

Santa · Guru

As a matter of interest SA has a zero tolerance policy re produce quarantine.

You used to be able to surrender prohibited items at the Quarantine station, this is no longer the case, if you show up with produce on board there is an automatic fine, no talking your way out of it.

The exceptions are onions and washed potatoes. smile

Taking fruit and vegetables into the Riverland

Restrictions apply for taking fresh fruit and vegetables into the Riverland fruit fly exclusion zone from other parts of South Australia to help protect the Riverlands status as a recognised pest free area for fruit fly

You can only take into the Riverland fruit fly exclusion zone :

fresh fruit and fruiting vegetables accompanied with an itemised receipt proving it was purchased from a South Australian shop.
cooked, processed, preserved, stewed, dried, frozen or canned fruit and fruiting vegetables.

You cannot take in the exclusion zone:

home-grown fruit and fruiting vegetables
fresh fruit and fruiting vegetables purchased from a shop interstate
fresh fruit and fruiting vegetables purchased from a South Australian shop unless you are carrying itemised receipt proving its purchase location.

Use our handy Produce Checker to see what produce you can and can't bring into SA and the Riverland!

If you're travelling into Riverland keep handy the:

Riverland Pest Free Area

South Australias Riverland region is formally recognised as a Pest Free Area for fruit flies, meaning it is free of both Queensland fruit fly and Mediterranean fruit fly.

This Pest Free Area status is internationally recognised by key export markets including the United States, Thailand, Japan and New Zealand.

The Pest Free Area means produce from the Riverland can be shipped directly to these countries without the need for disinfestation treatments for fruit fly, which reduces costs and delays for producers and exporters across the supply chain.

South Australias citrus industry is the main benefactor of the Riverlands Pest Free Area status, exporting $104 million worth of citrus in 201617. Stonefruit production is also an important and growing horticultural sector in the Riverland that benefits from the status.

PIRSA supports the maintenance and ongoing status of the Riverland Pest Free Area by maintaining and inspecting more than 1000 fruit fly traps in the region on a weekly basis in the warmer months, and fortnightly in the winter months.

The Pest Free Area is surrounded by 18 quarantine bins with signage highlighting quarantine restrictions to travellers entering the region. PIRSA also operates the Yamba Quarantine Stations 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, as well as random roadblocks, stopping and checking all traveller and commercial vehicles for fruit fly host material.

Please note that as of 4 January 2019 a zero tolerance approach applies at the Yamba quarantine station and you will be fined if found carrying restricted fruit and vegetables.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi Tony, when I read your subject heading I thought you must have had one too many Coronas at GreenS and got the Coronavirus and were stopped entering SA.

JeffRae · Guru

Hmmmmmm, are you sure the smoke in your teepee hasn't affected you Dougwe smile

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Nah! I don't use that 'stuff' in the teepee mate.

We haven't heard back from Tony yet so maybe I am close to the truth biggrin

See ya in two weeks Tony biggrin

Tony Bev · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
Hi Tony, when I read your subject heading I thought you must have had one too many Coronas at GreenS and got the Coronavirus and were stopped entering SA.

Just looked up what Coronas meant, Doug

biggrin Shows how much I know about drinking, or the lack of thereof biggrin

Keep safe out there, mate

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

It's done for a reason. Crippling an industry is high on the agenda. We had fruit fly once when we lived in Ceduna - DPI workers thought it was caused by a traveller ditching some affected fruit. We lost our peaches, nectarines that year..

The inspectors on the WA borders are quite ruthless, we found & obviously others have found too. We lost good cardboard boxes because they had pictures of tomatoes on the outside (were given inferior boxes in return). We were told a couple of years ago that we were the only people to have had honey joked to take into WA. Had bought it in WA the year before & it was unopened!

Don't do what I did once. I ate lots of fruit (oranges, apples, tomatoes, bananas - a good "fruit salad" to save it from being tossed out, only to suffer later, spending most of the night on the loo at Blanchtown CP!!