The three Good Guys stores due to reopen today after the discovery of beetles in some appliances are to remain closed pending approval by the Department of Agriculture.
The company flagged on Wednesday that the stores in Belconnen, Fyshwick and Tuggeranong would be open again on Thursday more than a week after the infestation by the Khapra beetle was discovered.
A 10 per cent discount on goods bought was promised.
But on Thursday morning, the company said they were waiting for clearance from the Department of Agriculture.
"Unfortunately this will be done by individual store and there has been a delay," they said.
"Our teams are ready to trade as soon as clearance is provided."
The Agriculture Department said that the beetle, which would be devastating to agriculture if it got out, had been found in three other sites in the ACT, but didn't identify them.
The Agriculture Department said on Wednesday:
- Three stores have been closed and it is yet to be determined when they will reopen
- Three customers had purchased a fridge from a retail outlet
- The infested refrigerators were all imported in the same container
- Tracing, surveillance, and additional fumigation has been undertaken to ensure the interceptions do not pose an ongoing biosecurity risk.
The beetle is viewed as a serious threat to Australian agriculture if it were to get out into the environment and then into grain stores.
"If the beetle was to establish here, many of our trading partners would reject stored produce from Australia. Given that Australia exports much of the grain we grow, the beetle could cause huge losses, affecting Australia's economy," the department said.
The department estimated that the damage to the Australian economy would amount to $15.5 billion.
It is not known how the beetle came to be in a shipment of fridges to the ACT. The beetle species can "hitchhike" in containers that previously carried high-risk items.
Goods associated with the affected shipments are being traced.
"They can be found in stored products and around places where stored products are kept or transported. This includes between cracks and wall linings of storage containers," an Agriculture Department spokesman said.
"The department is analysing global trade patterns to gain a better understanding as to why these interceptions are taking place, and how non-food goods can become infested."
