On June 23, 2021, the Australian Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Environment issued the 132-2021 import Industry Recommendation Notice to revise the import conditions of tomato seeds for sowing.

For further information on the revised measures and transitional arrangements, please refer to Industry Advice Notice 107-2021, published 28 May 2021.

The three key changes that have been implemented for tomato seed for sowing are summarised below, effective 23 June 2021:

1. Tomato seeds no longer need to be tested for Tomato planta macho viroid.

2. Wild tomato species no longer need to be tested for Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV)and pospiviroids associated with tomato seeds. Wild tomato species will still need to be tested for Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and Tomato mottle mosaic virus (ToMMV).

3. The sample size for PepMV testing (ELISA and PCR) has increased from 3,000 to 20,000 seeds per seed lot (or 20% of small seed lots). A transitional arrangement is in place, whereby the department will accept test results for seed lots tested for PepMV prior to 23 June 2021 (using a 3,000 seed sample size), subject to transitional conditions being met.