AUSTRALIAN GRAINS MAINTAINS STRONG NATIONAL RESIDUE SURVEY COMPLIANCE IN 2024-25

The 2024-2025 National Residue Survey (NRS) Grains Brochure has demonstrated increasingly strong results, with overall compliance with Australian pesticide residue standards 99.6 per cent. 

Operating within the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, the NRS helps maintain standards, through compliance with pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs), to help facilitate important trade and market access for Australian grain producers and industry. 

This year’s NRS Grains Survey adds to the existing track record of Australian grain producers and bulk grain handlers, who continue to demonstrate a high degree of good agricultural practice with supporting evidence and data. 

As part of the NRS testing program that’s funded by grain producer levies, grain samples are collected at bulk export terminals, container export packers, oilseed crushers, feed mills, flour mills, feedlots and food processors.  

The number of samples collected for testing is influenced by Australian production levels and export markets. This year’s NRS Grains Brochure showed 6,289 samples were collected for analysis, in total. 

This year’s report recorded against grain compliance rates, against the Australian MRL standards, at 99.4 per cent for the domestic trade program (851 samples collected); 99 per cent for the container export program (1,443 samples collected); and 99.8 per cent for the bulk export program (3,995 samples collected). 

“The results highlight excellent compliance with Australian standards and demonstrate the strong commitment of the grains industry to good agricultural practice. The consistently high compliance rates help maintain the reputation and integrity of Australian grains in international and domestic markets,” the National Residue Survey 2024-25 Brochure said. 

GPA RD&E Spokesperson Andrew Weidemann said as a part of GPA's representative role in oversight of the NRS, it is pleasing to highlight that the grains industry report card has again recorded a high rating, and this reflects growers' commitment to correct and safe chemical use.

"The industry's ongoing commitment to high compliance also supports both economic productivity and long-term sustainability," Mr Weidemann said. 

“That consistency underpins the Australian grains industry’s reputation for producing high-quality crops and supports our ability to trade with confidence, securely and sustainably, across a wide range of important export markets.” 

The 2024-25 NRS Grains Brochure is available HERE with versions provided in multiple languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Vietnamese etc, to highlight the diversity of Australia’s grain export markets. 

GPA members are engaged in NRS processes and provide input into related policy matters of grain quality and integrity, through the GPA Pesticide and Technology Sub-committee. HERE 

The NRS program covers cereal grains (barley, maize, oat, sorghum, triticale, wheat, wheat durum, millet, rye), pulses (adzuki bean, chickpea, cowpea, faba bean, field pea, lentil, lupin, mung bean, navy bean, pigeon pea, soybean and vetch), and oilseeds (canola, linseed, safflower, sunflower). The milled fractions of wheat, wheat durum, soybean, rye, and maize are included in the milled grains program.  

ENDS 

Further Information: 

GPA RD&E Spokesperson Andrew Weidemann:  0428 504 544 

GPA Executive Officer Communications Rachael Oxborrow: 0416 705 193