Inquiry into how barley in Japan was affected by pesticide

A spokesperson for the federal Department of Agriculture and Water resources said its counterpart - the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food - had released a statement regarding the consignment of Australian barley.

The spokesperson said the Australian government would be contacting the Japanese Ministry today to discuss their statement.

“The department understands the partial ban applies to one exporter and no other exporters are impacted,” it said.

“The department will be working with the Japanese Ministry to identify the circumstances of the detection.”

Reports say the pesticide azoxystrobin was detected in a shipment of Australian barley from ITOCHU Corporation in August last year.

Grain Producers Australia Chair Andrew Weidemann said government officials and industry groups were now investigating the reasons behind the partial market ban but questioned the delay in the issue surfacing, after so long.

It’s understood the shipment has also led to a product recall for food items made using the exported barley.

Grains Industry Market Access Forum Chair Barry Large said a Maximum Residue Limit breach, five times higher than the market’s accepted limit, had been detected on Australian barley exported to Japan via sea containers, out of the east coast.

But Mr Large said the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture had shown “great respect to the Australian market” and he expected business to continue as normal, despite the interruption.

“Japan has suspended the exporter which has also recalled all of its product in Japan and that exporter has been sanctioned in the tendering process, to acquire barley for the Japanese market,” he said.

“It is business as usual for the Australians and as Australian farmers we need to ensure we play by the rules and comply with standards.

“For now we can stand back and take a deep breath – we’ll do some trace-back and see what’s gone on here.