Australian banana growers renew concerns over possible Philippine imports after Senate Estimates questions

Questions at Senate Estimates on 27 October put fresh focus on Australia's biosecurity assessment of fresh Cavendish bananas from the Philippines, with a draft report expected in the first half of 2027.

Australian banana growers have renewed their concerns about the possible importation of fresh bananas from the Philippines, after questions about the federal government's assessment were raised at Senate Estimates on Tuesday 27 October.

LNP Senator for Queensland Susan McDonald questioned Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry representatives about the findings of a technical visit to the Philippines earlier this year, the costs of managing a potential incursion and the uncertainty facing Australian banana growers, according to the Australian Banana Growers' Council (ABGC), which published a statement on 28 October.

The council said Dr Peter Finnin, the department's First Assistant Secretary, confirmed that evidence of a range of threats had been found. "We need to understand what the risk of transmission of those diseases to Australia through fruit might be, and whether they can be managed," Dr Finnin said. The ABGC said he also confirmed that any incursion would be covered by a cost-shared response arrangement.

Senator McDonald highlighted the difficult prospect for growers, who have already spent millions of dollars eradicating black Sigatoka and managing other serious biosecurity threats, the council said.

What the department is assessing

The department is conducting an assessment of alternative measures for the importation of fresh Cavendish bananas from the Philippines, in response to a formal request from the Philippines. It released a notice of intention to run the assessment as a Biosecurity Import Risk Analysis on 16 June 2026, which starts a 30-month timeframe to finalise it.

The department says the assessment will involve:

• a comprehensive scientific assessment of biosecurity risks, including the 3 pathogens of concern: Moko, black Sigatoka and banana freckle
• consideration of an additional cultivar known as GCTCV-218 or Formosana
• consideration of an additional export province, Davao de Oro in the Davao Region

No Philippine bananas on Australian shelves yet

A policy determination was made in 2009 permitting the import of bananas from the Philippines, subject to biosecurity requirements, but no trade has occurred, according to the department. Australia does not currently permit the import of fresh bananas from any market. If the assessment finds measures that can meet Australia's appropriate level of protection, the department must still verify that the Philippines can meet them and develop import conditions before trade could start, and it says the full process could take several years to complete.

The department notes that the Philippines' banana industry produced approximately 8.69 million tonnes of bananas in 2024 and exports fresh bananas to markets including Japan, Korea, China and the Middle East. In 2024, the Philippines was Australia's 9th largest agriculture, fisheries and forestry export market, valued at $2.4 billion.

The next major milestone is the release of a draft import risk assessment report, expected in the first half of 2027. The ABGC says the report will be open for public consultation for at least 60 days.

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