The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) on Friday confirmed it has banned fenthion, with 12 months for orchardists to phase out the chemical.

The APVMA has been reviewing fenthion since 1998, looking at its toxicology, residues in food, worker exposure and environmental effects. 

They have now cancelled all horticultural uses as well as cattle lice and home garden products. 

Local grower Luke Ellison said the ban would make business much harder for local stone fruit growers.

There just isn’t an effective alternative treatment available for fruit fly and other pests including carpophilus beetle. 

Growers will increasingly rely on fruit fly traps which need regular refilling and monitoring.

That’s a big job for someone who already works more than 12-hour days like Ellison - and putting on additional workers would increase his costs.

“You have to stay right on top of it,” he said.

“Fruit fly aren’t too bad in hot, dry years, my biggest fear is a cool, wet year. 

“We could get a big outbreak and how are we going to stop it?

“Once they take over we are in big trouble.”

The pressure is not only on orchardists, it’s on everyone who has a fruit tree or grows tomatoes in their backyard.

“One of our problems is our proximity to town,” Mr Ellison said.

“It’s no good if I’m trapping (fruit fly) and my neighbours are trapping, but people in town are not.” 

If uncontrolled, the impact of fruit fly will be devastating. 

“If you’ve ever bitten into a piece of fruit that’s got fly, it’s the most disgusting taste you could imagine,” Mr Ellison said.  

Despite the challenges ahead, Mr Ellison says he won’t walk away from the orchard.

He suspects other growers might.

“When you have got a young family, where do you go?” he said.

“I’ve invested a lot here in high security water licences and a bore.

“I can’t just leave – I have to have a positive attitude.” 

Mr Ellison says he and his workers always take all recommended precautions when applying the chemical and he doesn’t feel at risk from its use. 

He said the chemical levels on his fruit have been tested multiple times.

“We have always been within the limit and a lot of the time they can’t even find the product on the fruit,” he said.

Summerfruit Australia – the body that represents growers including locals – says in its submission to the review that 6000 jobs, an international and domestic market, are in jeopardy. 

“An industry worth $260 million (farm gate) has been left without an effective alternative control for fruit fly,” the submission says.

“For a grower who has put substantial resources into producing a crop to find that crop destroyed by a pest to the point where it is not worth harvesting is highly devastating.

“It has a flow-on to the cash flow of the business, the ability to service debts and employ staff.”

For Australian stone fruit growers to stay in business, consumers will have to pay more.  

Local agronomist Graham Falconer told Forbes Shire Council’s October meeting that the chemical ban would make Australian farmers uncompetitive, increasing their costs greatly. He highlighted that the chemicals are still used overseas and the fruit imported to Australia. 

What is Fenthion? 

In a media release, the APVMA described fenthion as a broad-spectrum organophosphate insecticide that has been used to control pests on stone fruit, apples, avocado, capsicum, tomatoes and tropical fruits like mangos. 

The active constituent fenthion, all products containing fenthion and their associated labels were placed under review by the APVMA in 1998 because of concerns about its toxicity (especially acute toxicity), occupational health and safety (OHS), residues in food (including dietary exposure) environmental and trade aspects. 

Fifteen submissions to the review were received but the APVMA determined “the proposals put forward did not sufficiently reduce the risks associated with fenthion”.