Exporting from the Port of Lautoka to Australia will now be easier with the inclusion of Lautoka in the Sea Container Hygiene System (SCHS).
Under the SCHS, sea containers are cleaned at recognised SCHS facilities prior to transporting to the Port for hygienic storage until loading in accordance with required protocols.
With ongoing compliance, external sea container inspections on arrival could reduce to as low as 5 per cent, resulting in cost savings for Fijian businesses and faster movement of containers at the wharves.
Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) chief executive, Michael Bartlett welcomed the announcement.
“BAF has been working hard over the last few years to extend the SCHS to Lautoka Port and improve processes for exporters.”
“The SCHS has already been successfully implemented at the Port of Suva. High compliance has resulted in container inspections into Australia under the system being reduced by 95 per cent in recent years.”
“This has led to reduced costs for Fijian exporters. We’re pleased to extend these benefits to the Port of Lautoka. BAF will continue to work with the Australian Government to explore new ways to facilitate trade, while managing biosecurity risks.”
Australia’s Charge d’Affaires in Fiji, Stuart Watts, said an important element of the Vuvale Partnership is supporting increased trade between Australia and Fiji.
“This is a practical example of an improvement, enabling high-quality Fijian exports to get on to Australian shelves more quickly, and with lower costs to exporters.”
“We congratulate the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and port authorities for all their hard work to secure this accreditation.”
President of the Fiji Australia Business Council (FABC), Vera Chute, also welcomed this announcement saying the Council had been advocating for improvements to container processing times for Fijian exports.
“We’re pleased the Australian and Fijian Governments have listened to our concerns and helped reduce the costs of exporting from Fiji to Australia.”
The SCHS is a voluntary biosecurity agreement developed by industry in collaboration with the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries.
The agreement seeks to manage biosecurity risk associated with sea containers at the port of loading.
Under an SCHS agreement, sea containers will be cleaned offshore by the participant prior to loading, in accordance with the department’s minimum hygiene requirements.
