
Hort Innovation and Plant Health Australia (PHA) has announced a new three year National Bee Pest Surveillance Program (NBPSP).
The program will continue to monitor for honey bee pests that threaten the Australian honey bee industry.
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Industry Development Manager at Almond Board of Australia Deidre Jaensch said honey bees are critical for the production of many crops, pollinating around 65 per cent of agricultural and horticultural crops in Australia.
She said their contribution to the Australian economy through pollination services and products is estimated to be $14.3 billion per annum.
The almond and grains industries both rely on honey bees for production, with the almond industry relying exclusively on honey bees for pollination.
"Access to healthy honey bees is critical for our industry in pollinating our crop each year," Ms Jaensch said.
"It is important we do whatever we can to protect our bees and the apiary businesses that support us from exotic pests and diseases."
GPA Chair and Western Australian grain producer Barry Large said the surveillance program was essential to helping protect the profitability and sustainability of Australian grain producers.
"Bee pollination plays a vital part in our $13 billion industry; especially contributing to yield increases for grain producers who grow canola and lupin crops," Mr Large said.
"GPA is proud to support this initiative as part of our national role working with PHA, governments and other stakeholders to enhance the strength of our biosecurity systems and safeguard Australian grain producers."
Eleven exotic pests that could pose a significant threat to pollination services have been identified.
Arguably the most important of these is Varroa mite, a parasitic mite present in Europe, North and South America, Africa, parts of Asia and New Zealand that has contributed to the collapse of honey bee industries in these regions.
Although Australia is free from Varroa and other significant honey bee pests, with strong border biosecurity in place, there is constant pressure on the biosecurity system to maintain this freedom.
This is largely a result of the hitch-hiking nature of the European honey bee and exotic honey bee colonies on sea cargo.
Hort Innovation Research and Development Manager Ashley Zamek said Australia is fortunate that a lot of the pests and diseases that are serious threats to honey bees and in-turn the plant industries that are dependent on pollination, are not in Australia.
Ms Zamek said that is not because of luck.
"Australia's largely healthy honey bee population is the result of intensive, world-leading surveillance efforts combined with the vigilance and support of organisations and government agencies across the country," she said.
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