Seeds

[Ray]

Hi All,have been just looking at member Kristl's site and came across some info that i thought was strange.The site says that if you are ordering from Sth America,NZ or Australia you must provide a import certificate so the Canadian authorities can issue a Phytosanitary certificate.
Why have these countries been sorted out for special treatment?
I thought that the importing country set the rules for it's people that wanted to import.
As I have only imported seed from the UK,USA & RSA and never had any problems with those countries.
Do these conditions only apply to Canada or do other countries ask for similar info.bye Ray

[Maggi Young]

Ray, it is precisely because the countries of Sth America,NZ and Australia have inposed rigorous import regulations that these requests are made..... you cannot import to those countries without a phyto certificate fron the originating counrtry and that needs an import cert to be supplied. Kristl, and other responsible sellers like her, are simply following the international regulations 

 So, you see, it is not a case of "Why have these countries been sorted out for special treatment?", it is a case of these countries have imposed special requirements.

[Carol Shaw]

So, you see, it is not a case of "Why have these countries been sorted out for special treatment?", it is a case of these countries have imposed special requirements.

And ones which give the seed distribution team headaches 

[Maggi Young]

So, you see, it is not a case of "Why have these countries been sorted out for special treatment?", it is a case of these countries have imposed special requirements.

And ones which give the seed distribution team headaches 

Not always the regulations which give the problems, Carol, often the lack of compliance by the Seed Seekers with their local rules  Or, as is sometimes the case, the insistance by the Seed Seeker that they" have had seed from X w and Z before and why are WE being so fussy"  ?!!

[rob krejzl]

Ray,

As I understand it import permits are only required for specific items - just consult ICON to see whether you'd need one. For example, Tomato seed (of any kind) requires one, but not Primula seed.

[Carol Shaw]

And ones which give the seed distribution team headaches 

Not always the regulations which give the problems, Carol, often the lack of compliance by the Seed Seekers with their local rules  Or, as is sometimes the case, the insistance by the Seed Seeker that they" have had seed from X w and Z before and why are WE being so fussy"  ?!!
[/quote]

True... it is often the Seed Seeker who creates the challenge by ordering seeds we can't send or not getting the correct form to the team.

[Lesley Cox]

Neither NZ nor Australia require a phyto certificate. In both cases we have lists of what is permitted (ICON in Australia, Biosecurity Index/Plants in NZ) and anything on those lists we may import as seeds without any documentation except the declaration on the package that it contains seeds which must be present with both generic and specific names. For larger orders or where only numbers are on the seed packets, it is common sense to include a list of what is ordered and ask that it be returned with the seed. MAF in NZ require this, for SRGC and AGS seed, for instance. Saves them time in looking up numerous items from a list.

That the Americans require a phyto is a no brainer since it's impossible to tell from seed whether it is healthy or not.

Ray, if you are ordering from Kristl, mention that you don't need the phyto, but check your ICON before ordering.

[rob krejzl]

Lesley,

In fact phyto's may be required in Oz, as this page from ICON shows (http://www.aqis.gov.au/icon32/asp/ex_casecontent.asp?intNodeId=8751382&intCommodityId=24821&Types=none&WhichQuery=Go+to+full+text&intSearch=1&LogSessionID=0).

In practise I doubt that many seeds on Krystals list would need an import permit. The wording merely protects her against future changes and assumes we are more au courant about our systems than she is. I've never wanted to import seed which requires a permit, nor had seed refused entry because it needed one on those rare occasions () I've stuffed-up my seed requests.

[Rodger Whitlock]

That the Americans require a phyto is a no brainer since it's impossible to tell from seed whether it is healthy or not.

The American system is primarily intended to prevent the introduction of exotic plants that may become serious weeds. As is usual in bureaucracies, no one bothered to research the history of the many weeds introduced into North America. Some have been there for centuries, but others have been introduced more recently, often under official aegis, kudzu being one of the more notorious introductions by the USDA.

One difficulty confronting the US agricultural authorities is that the country contains many different climatic and ecological zones, from tropical in southern Florida to permafrost in Alaska. Plants perfectly well behaved in one area may wreak havoc in others. Ordinary pampas grass is considered a serious weed in California where it has naturalized, for example.