Khapra beetle:

Trogoderma granarium

is a serious stored-product pest and an important Australian biosecurity concern.

It can infest grains and other dry plant products, but it can also travel as a:

Hitchhiker Pest

inside sea containers and other cargo.

For importers, this means Khapra beetle requirements can relate to both:

Goods

and

Sea Containers.

Why Is Khapra Beetle a Serious Risk?

Khapra beetle larvae can damage and contaminate stored products such as:

• Grain
• Rice
• Wheat
• Seeds
• Pulses
• Some nuts
• Dried plant products

Larvae and cast skins can also remain hidden in:

• Container floors
• Cracks
• Crevices
• Packaging
• Grain residues

A contaminated container can therefore become a pathway even where the cargo itself is not obviously infested.

Which Products Are Considered High Risk?

DAFF currently lists a range of high-risk plant products, including:

• Rice
• Wheat
• Chickpeas
• Lentils
• Mung beans and cowpeas
• Soybean
• Peanuts
• Coriander seed
• Cumin seed
• Fennel seed
• Dried chilli/capsicum
• Cucurbit seed
• Other specified pulses and seeds

Some commercially processed goods may qualify for exemptions.

Examples can include certain:

• Roasted products
• Cooked or par-boiled products
• Commercially ground products
• Retail-prepared foods
• Vegetable oils
• Preserved products

The actual BICON conditions should be checked for the specific commodity.

What Is a Khapra Beetle Target-Risk Country?

Target-risk countries are countries where Australia recognises Khapra beetle as established.

The current list includes countries such as:

• India
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Afghanistan
• Iran
• Iraq
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Türkiye
• Greece
• Egypt
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Kazakhstan
• Jordan

and other countries on the current DAFF list.

On 30 April 2026, Australia added:

• Angola
• Chad
• Guinea
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania

Is China a Khapra Beetle Target-Risk Country?

Under the current 2026 DAFF list:

China is not a Khapra beetle target-risk country.

This is important for China-to-Australia freight.

It is not correct to assume that every FCL container shipped from China requires offshore Khapra treatment.

Requirements depend on factors including:

• Commodity
• High-risk plant product status
• Country where the container was packed
• Australian unpack location
• BICON conditions

What Applies to High-Risk Plant Products from Target-Risk Countries?

High-risk plant products exported from a Khapra beetle target-risk country generally require measures including:

• Offshore treatment
• Government inspection at origin
• Treatment certification
• Phytosanitary certification

Where these products move in an FCL/FCX sea container, the container itself may also require treatment.

The:

Goods requirements

and

Container requirements

must therefore be considered separately.

What About High-Risk Products from Other Countries?

High-risk plant products exported from a non-target-risk country may still have Khapra-related import conditions.

Under the current measures, commercial pathways may still require:

• Government inspection
• Phytosanitary certification

even where offshore treatment is not required under the target-risk-country rules.

A non-target-risk country does not automatically mean no biosecurity documentation is required.

When Does an FCL/FCX Container Require Offshore Treatment?

One important scenario involves an:

FCL / FCX container

packed in a Khapra beetle target-risk country and containing high-risk plant products.

The container generally requires approved offshore treatment.

Another scenario involves an FCL/FCX packed in a target-risk country that will be unpacked in an Australian:

Rural Khapra Risk Postcode.

Specific offshore container treatment requirements may apply.

What Is the 21-Day Rule?

Applicable target-risk containers generally need to be:

• Treated within 21 days prior to export
• Accompanied by appropriate treatment certification

Except for specified methyl bromide scenarios, container treatment generally occurs before packing.

Under compliant methyl bromide arrangements, treatment may be possible with the container:

• Empty
or
• Packed

depending on the applicable conditions.

Which Container Treatment Methods Are Used?

Approved options include specified:

Methyl Bromide Fumigation

and:

Heat Treatment.

Treatment must meet DAFF requirements for:

• Treatment rate
• Temperature
• Duration
• Provider approval
• Certification

The current methodology and BICON conditions should always be checked before treatment is arranged.

Are All Containers Covered?

No.

Current sea-container Khapra measures exclude certain equipment and pathways, such as:

• ISO tanks
• Reefers, including relevant non-operating reefers
• Flat racks
• LCL / FAK consignments
• Empty containers

Specific exclusions can vary according to the particular Khapra measure.

An exclusion from the:

Container Measure

does not automatically mean the cargo itself has no biosecurity requirements.

Why Does Container Cleanliness Matter?

Khapra beetle can hide in:

• Container floors
• Cracks and crevices
• Grain residues
• Packaging debris

Before loading, containers should be checked for:

• Cleanliness
• Food or grain residue
• Insects or cast skins
• Organic contamination
• Pest activity

Suspicious contamination should be addressed before cargo is loaded for Australia.

What If Khapra Beetle Is Suspected?

Possible warning signs include:

• Hairy larvae
• Larval cast skins
• Damaged stored products
• Insects in container cracks
• Pest activity around grain residues

Suspected contamination in Australia should be secured and reported promptly to DAFF.

Khapra beetle can resemble other Trogoderma species, so visual identification alone may not be sufficient.

Why Is Treatment Certification Important?

Where offshore treatment is required, documentation is a critical part of compliance.

Depending on the consignment, documents may include:

• Treatment Certificate
• Phytosanitary Certificate
• Sealing Declaration
• Commercial documents
• Other BICON documentation

Treatment must also be completed by an acceptable provider under the relevant Australian requirements.

What Is a Sealing Declaration?

A Sealing Declaration may be required in certain circumstances to demonstrate information such as:

• Where the container was packed
• When the container was packed and sealed
• Whether treatment occurred within the required 21-day period

Dates across treatment and shipping documents should be consistent.

What Changed from 28 May 2025?

DAFF changed several Khapra beetle treatment and phytosanitary certification requirements from 28 May 2025.

Changes included:

• Revised additional declaration wording for gas-permeable packaging
• NPPO supervision requirements for some treatment providers with specified compliance status
• Additional phytosanitary declarations for those supervised treatments
• Removal of the fourth concentration sampling tube for container methyl bromide treatments

Older treatment and certificate templates should therefore not automatically be reused.

What Happens If the Requirements Are Not Met?

Non-compliant cargo or containers may face:

• Biosecurity inspection
• Additional treatment
• Storage
• Delays
• Export or re-export
• Destruction in some circumstances

For FCL and project cargo, correcting biosecurity problems after arrival can be significantly more expensive than dealing with the requirements before shipment.

How Can Importers Reduce Khapra Risk?

Before shipping:

• Check the commodity in BICON
• Confirm the country of export
• Confirm target-risk-country status
• Identify whether the goods are high-risk plant products
• Check whether the container requires treatment
• Use compliant treatment providers
• Verify container cleanliness
• Retain treatment and inspection records
• Check phytosanitary certification
• Confirm the final Australian unpack location

Biosecurity requirements should be checked for the actual shipment rather than based only on previous imports.

What Should China-to-Australia Importers Know?

China is not currently listed as a Khapra beetle target-risk country.

However, products such as:

• Rice
• Wheat
• Seeds
• Beans
• Dried chilli
• Spices
• Other plant products

may still have commodity-specific Australian biosecurity conditions.

Transshipment and the actual country where the container is packed can also affect the assessment.

The shipping route should therefore be reviewed together with the commodity.

Chinz Logistics Australia Import & Biosecurity Freight

Chinz Logistics provides international freight coordination between China, Australia and other global markets, including:

• China to Australia sea freight
• LCL shipping
• FCL shipping
• China collection and warehousing
• Export customs support
• Australian import clearance coordination
• Biosecurity documentation coordination
• Treatment-related logistics coordination
• Container cartage
• Australian local delivery

For grains, seeds, spices, pulses and other plant products, BICON requirements should be reviewed before shipment rather than after the cargo reaches Australia.

If you are preparing an import, provide:

Commodity + botanical name/composition where relevant + processing method + packing method + country of origin + country of export + container type + packing location + Australian suburb/postcode

to help determine the appropriate freight and biosecurity preparation.