On November 25, 2020, Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) announced the redeployment of a number of staff for an emergency response to the threat of invasion from the Khapra Beetle. Khapra Beetles are usually detected in shipments of stored produce such as grain and rice and have been detected in empty containers and amongst shipments of other goods.
As a result of this redeployment, the industry is experiencing significant delays in entry processing through the DAWE system.
DAWE’s notice can be found here:
https://www.agriculture.gov.au/import/industry-advice/2020/204-2020
More information on Khapra Beetles can be found here:
https://www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/plant/khapra-beetle
