Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Would one of our Australian friends see if they can please lean on CSIRO, or whatever governmental agency is necessary, so that progress can be made towards getting export approval for the Blood Lime?

http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/australiannativecitrus/bloodlime.html
(I had nothing to do with putting this page together, I just think it is a useful reference...)

It has been stuck in the status of "under consideration for export" for about eight years now, and when I last traded emails with someone at CSIRO (I'm guessing 4 or 5 years ago) they said that nobody was actually doing any work towards moving the effort forward because everyone involved had moved on to other things. They agreed it didn't make sense for CSIRO to spend so much money, and so much time, getting the hybrid up to commercial status and then just abandoning efforts to get export approval, but "well, that's government for you" was pretty much their take on things.

Do any of you Aussies know anything about this, or what can be done about this? Some of us in the State would LOVE to get ahold of budwood (or of course preferably a live and bearing plant, obtained legally).

I don't know anything about export, but there are places selling them in Australia. For example http://www.citrusmen.com.au/citrus-gems ... gory_id=11

I would have thought that it was less of a problem to export from Australia than to import into the US, but I imagine you have looked into that already.

CSIRO is a national science organization. Revenue from spin off companies and commercialization is not their primary focus, unless the market is large enough or fits into their primary areas of impact.

IP and products that impact science, industry, and health in a big way, particularly with value to Australia, is their main focus.

I've had one growing for a few years now - still haven't figured out a good use for them. I'm not sure I'd bother if I was you - they're only quite small fruit.

The government here is very slow for any thing Australianto send to the world but quick to let stuff in

chillidude: I am very jealous. My key lime bushes produce very small fruit as well, but they're wonderful. Ergo: I'm STILL jealous that you have them at all. Thanks for the pictures!

furnaceboy: Thanks for the link! Sadly, I'd be breaking a whole lot of export/import/smuggling laws - laws I happen to agree with - if I brought the plants in myself. So just in case any feds read this: I will not be doing that!

DrLuke and ccBear: Amen to that...

Dropping interest in projects is not just confined to government.

Giving the time line you've quoted, it coincides with a massive restructure of CSIRO as a concerted effort to moved from many independent divisions working on their own, possibly redundant projects, to large cross organizational projects/goals focused more strongly on the major scientific hurdles faced by our country.

Any commercial company that went through a similar restructuring is likely to shelve a number of smaller low priority projects also.

They had a report on Landline ABC 1 last season and my figures might not be correct but it was in the order of under 20 fruit or vegetables had been approved by the federal government to China while over 1000 had been approved for import. It was an eye opener and laid the delay fully at the feet of the federal government.

Where can I find Aussie native citrus like this in Brisbane?
I'm flying back to Jakarta and I usually take bare rooted plants of new things

Hi Shelgeyr
it seems that accessing the USA for this Lime is about market access and that is handled by DAFF Federal Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry http://www.daff.gov.au not CSIRO unless there is another issue (possibly PBR).

Market access both in and out of Australia is a time consuming process involving Risk analysis etc. I know we export citrus fruit to the US (and the US to us) but it is possible that because this genus and species has not undergone a detailed pest risk analysis that access is not allowed.

In the past the US has got some of its worst citrus pests from Australia so it is not as simple or as easy as you may think. Also the cost of doing an assessment is huge and so may not be high on the priorities of APHIS.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Cheers
Marc

Jakarta just google native fruit trees suppliers S E Queensland

Call Brisbane Organic Growers 07 3357 3171