Tonga Quarantine has lifted the ban of Passengers Accompanied fruit from New Zealand that was imposed since February 2015
Quarantine authorities in Tonga received an official letter from MPI (Ministry of Primary Industries) with news of the removal of the ban.
The ban was needed to protect Tonga’s Agriculture and Export industries, due to the discovery of a small population of Queensland fruit fly in February 2015 in Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand. Millions of Dollars was spent by New Zealand for the Queensland fruit fly eradication program, and now has claimed to be a fruit fly free country again
Quarantine Officer, Graham Mala‘efo‘ou said various studies were conducted before it was decided to lift the ban.
“This started at the beginning of this year in February when the New Zealand government discovered these so-called Queensland fruit flies originating from Australia in the country, and knowing that some passengers carry fruits with them back here from overseas, we had to take precautions since we also identified that these flies cannot be found here in Tonga meaning we do not have them and we couldn’t risk this being a gateway for them to enter our country and that is why issued the banned policy at that time. But now the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries where the Quarantine is under, has officially announced after surveys and operations, that the flies can no longer be found in New Zealand and it is safe to lift the ban.”
Mala‘efo‘ou said it is important for passengers to keep receipts of fruits purchased so that their officers know where they are from.
About 30 fruits like apples, avocados, blueberries, kiwifruits, citrus and cranberries, are allowed to be brought into Tonga.
Mala‘efo‘ou has also stressed that it is important for the public to know that they can only bring fruits and not vegetables.