New plant passport regulations

[annew]

Another nurseryman alerted me to the new regulations that have just come into force regarding plant passports.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/issuing-plant-passports-to-trade-plants-in-the-eu#apply-to-be-authorised
If you haven't heard of this, it requires every plant/seed sold by a nursery to have a plant passport. The only ones exempted are plants sold direct to the consumer eg at shows. Any online or mail order selling is covered by this. Even plants moved from one site belonging to a nursery to another, if more than 10 miles away, will also require a passsport. All nurseries will need to be inspected, I can't find out how often, and the charges are as follows:

The fees are £61.58 for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) with a minimum fee of £123.16.
The fees are payable for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent in carrying out the inspection and any associated activities. These associated activities include the time it takes inspectors to travel to your site and any administration relevant to that inspection, subject to the minimum fees.
The fee for renewal inspections is the same as for first inspections.

Bearing in mind many, if not most, nurseries are situated in the countryside (some a LONG way from their nearest APHA office) this could mount up to a very worrying cost.
I've been trying to get clarification from my local APHA office, and their reply is that they don't know either....
As a small mail order nursery owner ( both the nursery and myself are petite) this could be a game changer. Along with the possible complication of CITES certificates being needed in the future for some exports to the EU,
the future of our business looks rather uncertain.

[P. Kohn]

From the title this presumably only refers to trade outside the UK ?  Does it mean that obtaining seeds from other countries is going to get really difficult ?  We run a 'nursery' in Sheffield Botanic Gardens but it isn't commercial and we only sell in the garden and at local Plant Fairs. However, we sometimes supply plants to other botanic gardens. Are these subject to the paassport ?

Can see the relevance in terms of plant pathogens but not in terms of trade if this is simply a Brexit consequence.

[SteveC2]

Given that the information quoted is from 2015 it clearly has nothing to do with Brexit. 
But I agree that it is worrying. I am not a “nurseryman”, but over 50% of my eBay sales of my surplus Pleione go to the continent.  I was expecting CITES to end these sales (exactly when is an interesting question and I started preChristmas this year in case anything happens at the end of January) but this also seems to apply to me and not just exports but uk sales as well.  But given the scale of plant sales on eBay and their disregard for rules and regulations, this is an enforcement impossibility.

[annew]

From the title this presumably only refers to trade outside the UK ?  Does it mean that obtaining seeds from other countries is going to get really difficult ?  We run a 'nursery' in Sheffield Botanic Gardens but it isn't commercial and we only sell in the garden and at local Plant Fairs. However, we sometimes supply plants to other botanic gardens. Are these subject to the paassport ?

Can see the relevance in terms of plant pathogens but not in terms of trade if this is simply a Brexit consequence.

No, it applies to trade within the UK as well.

[Neil]

It more to do with plants that have an agriculture use  than anything else

List of plants

 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/852649/plant-passports-plant-products.pdf

further info

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/issuing-plant-passports-to-trade-plants-in-the-eu#when-you-need-a-plant-passport

[annew]

I wish it were, that was probably the original intention, but we fall under:
whole plants or living parts of plants (cuttings etc.) that are not planted and
the intention is for them to be planted

[arisaema]

This is a horrible regulation, I've tried reading it - and the original text is way worse than it seems most people had expected. It'll be the death of every seed collector business; it'll kill of most small, independent nurseries; and of course most seed exchanges. I fear for the future of the plant societies dependent on international members as the only easy country left to ship seeds into is Canada, with Norway and New Zealand being second and third. 

[arisaema]

As a small mail order nursery owner ( both the nursery and myself are petite) this could be a game changer. Along with the possible complication of CITES certificates being needed in the future for some exports to the EU,
the future of our business looks rather uncertain.

The UK phytosanitary inspection fees are already prohibitively expensive, even without CITES - and with Brexit happening (which I had hoped would mean the UK would ignore the latest regulations) I suspect it'll be better to finish any sales to the EU while you're still able to.

[Paul Cumbleton]

As far as I can see, these new regulations only apply to professionals (i.e.businesses) so should not really affect our seed exchanges. But it is a burdensome thing for nurseries etc. The Horticultural Trades Association have what I thought was quite a helpful short video explaining the new regulations and what businesses need to do - it can be viewed here:

https://hta.org.uk/assurance-compliance/plant-passporting.html

Paul

[Graeme]

As far as I can see, these new regulations only apply to professionals (i.e.businesses) so should not really affect our seed exchanges. But it is a burdensome thing for nurseries etc. The Horticultural Trades Association have what I thought was quite a helpful short video explaining the new regulations and what businesses need to do - it can be viewed here:

https://hta.org.uk/assurance-compliance/plant-passporting.html

Paul

the important words there are "in the event of leaving the EU with a deal" so that has not yet happened

[annew]

Latest email this morning from FERA:
We are now implementing SRSF in full and therefore for ‘distance selling’ you will need to be authorised to issue plant passports to fully comply with the legislation.
You need to complete both forms from the link below (scroll down to ‘Apply to be authorised’) and return to the email address given
https://www.gov.uk/.../issuing-plant-passports-to-trade...
and our HQ team will reply within a few days with your authorisation.
You will then need to send Plant Passport labels in the new format with the bulbs. (see the link above for charges and the format of the label).
If you continue to sell bulbs on ebay without a Plant Passport, the risk in the short term, is mainly if they go to the EU- and may be destroyed if found not to comply with SRSF

[annew]

I filled in and emailed the forms at 12.45 today, and in half an hour had the reply with my authorisation. I'm now ready to produce my own passports so our ebay offerings will begin next week!😃😃

[Neil]

Well that was quick and painless, took me longer to fill it out both of them, than it did for them Reply with my authorisation.

[Ben Candlin]

I've been following this topic with interest - I also run a small nursery. I sell at a select few shows, lectures and talks, but also lots by mail order. Many of my customers are EU based. I have been aware that the new regulations were coming into play for sometime, but if I'm honest, I have been burying my head in the sand! There are lots of questions and few concrete answers. This thread has been helpful, so thank you to those who have contributed.

It seems it is easy to apply for authorisation to issue the new plant passports, which is great to hear, even if it adds a bit of work to fulfilling each order. I can live with that. However, the costs and frequency of any subsequent inspections are still unknown. Has anyone got any answers to that? What did the inspection involve? My nursery is essentially a 'back garden nursery' and certainly not a typical commercial site. A high annual cost might just be the tipping point for me in what is already a hard way to make a living!

[Leena]

I filled in and emailed the forms at 12.45 today, and in half an hour had the reply with my authorisation. I'm now ready to produce my own passports so our ebay offerings will begin next week!😃😃

Does this mean, that you can continue to sell also to EU later? That would be great.