Guidance

Plant Health News issue 42 - May 2021

Updated 23 April 2024

1. Plant health controls on importing and exporting wood, wood products and isolated bark

1.1 New legislation

New legislation for Two-Lined Chestnut Borer and the Oak Longhorn Beetle will come into force in June. Measures are being introduced that apply to the wood of oak, sweet chestnut and Castanopsis species; hosts of the Two-Lined Chestnut Borer and the Oak Longhorn Beetle. These measures will apply to imports from Canada, Turkey and the USA and to China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Taiwan and Vietnam respectively. Imports of wood will only be permitted under certain conditions e.g. originating in a pest free area or having treatment as below. No changes in import requirements will be made in relation to countries that are known to be free from the pest.

Agrilus bilineatus (Two-Lined Chestnut Borer) is a wood boring beetle. It is a pest of Castanea dentata (American chestnut) and Quercus (oak) in its native range of North America. It was added to the EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation) Alert list in 2018 and moved to the EPPO A2 list in 2019 as there have been records of it in Turkey. Treatment requirements for imports will include bark freedom and heat treatment (56°C/30 min) or ionizing irradiation achieving 1 kGy.

Neocerambyx raddei (Oak Longhorn Beetle) (formerly known as Massicus raddei) is a beetle of the subfamily Cerambycinae. It is only present in East Asia and is a major pest of Quercus (oak) in Northeast China, with severe outbreaks occurring since 1993.

A Q&A document has also been published.

1.2 Fees for inspection of high priority goods imported from the EU will be introduced from 1 June

Fees for import inspections on high priority goods currently subject to controls will be introduced on 1 June 2021.

To allow businesses time to adapt to the new requirements for imports from the EU from January 2021, the Forestry Commission and other inspectorates delayed the introduction of fees for the inspection of these goods.

The fees will apply in England, Scotland and Wales.

Reduced frequency checks will continue to apply to high priority imports. Import inspections and fees charged for goods from the rest of the world will continue as usual.

You can find out more about import inspections, including fees, on gov.uk.

If you are a regular importer of EU high priority material and do not yet have a credit account with the Forestry Commission you can apply for one using this form.

1.3 Reduced frequency checks are now in force

A new timetable for introducing import border control processes has been set out by the government to enable UK businesses to focus on their recovery. Temporary legislation has been introduced to enable the plants, plant products and other objects which pose the highest risk to GB biosecurity to be subject to physical checks and identity checks at rate which reflects the risk posed. These apply to most types of regulated forestry material. Full border control processes on other types of plant produce will now be introduced on 1 January 2022.

Table 2 in the Reduced Physical Checks Regime details the inspection frequency for imports of various wood and wood products from the EU.

1.4 Updates to the Phytosanitary Conditions Regulations

A number of technical corrections have been made to the Phytosanitary Conditions Regulations through S.I. 2021/426. Corrections that are worthy of note include the reinstatement of fumigation as a phytosanitary measure for isolated conifer bark and the introduction of pest-free area requirements that apply to wood of oak from USA and Canada in respect to Bretziella fagacearum.

2. Operational processes and procedures

2.1 Updated information

Import Phytosanitary Certificates (PCs)

• On entry to GB, remote documentary import checks are now required on all PCs. Physical checks on the material may also be carried out, according to the risk-based priority for the commodity concerned.
• Checks may be carried out inland at Places of Destination (PoDs) until Jan 2022 for EU origin material. Physical checks may also take place at Border Control Posts (BCPs).
• Import fees will apply to imported EU material from 1 June 2021.
• From Jan 2022, physical and identity checks on regulated plants and plant products, wood, wood products and isolated bark will be performed at Border Control Posts (BCPs).

2.2 Place of Destination

You can continue to apply for your premises to be registered as a Place of Destination for plant health physical inspections on high priority EU material until Jan 2022. Alternatively, importers of wood and wood products can choose for inspections on high priority material to take place at existing BCPs. To comply with the requirements of this new temporary system, you must be registered as a professional operator to import or store regulated material. There are several other criteria you must meet for your application to be approved. These can be found in detail on gov.uk.

3. Import and Export of Barrels and Casks made from oak wood originating in the USA

Since the end of the EU Exit transition period we have received a number of enquiries from traders in the wines and spirits industry regarding the landing requirements for Cooper’s products such as new and used barrels and casks, made from oak wood originating in the USA, being traded between GB and EU member states.

The landing requirements for these Cooper’s products in GB and the EU are similar and are detailed in the table in Schedule 7, item 130 of The Plant Health (Phytosanitary Conditions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. Where it is possible the documented evidence declaring the heat treatment to achieve 176 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes can be presented instead of a phytosanitary certificate declaring one of the landing requirement options a – b listed in the right hand column of the table in Schedule 7, item 130. When the documentary evidence of heat treatment cannot be provided then a phytosanitary certificate must be issued by the plant health authority of the exporting country declaring compliance with one of the special conditions.

For imports of these Cooper’s products into GB, importers can make use of Customs Entry SAD Box 44 (CN Code 4416) to make heat treatment declarations.

Importers of Cooper’s products made from wood of oak (Quercus), originating in the USA that has been produced or manufactured using heat treatment to achieve a minimum temperature of 176 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes should use Box 44 to make this treatment declaration. For the sake of brevity, importers can make this declaration by entering the numeric code ‘PAR 11’ in SAD Box 44. Where the PAR 11 treatment declaration is made the consignment will not be subjected to plant health import checks. HMRC’s Tariff and Customs Entry computer systems have been amended to include this exemption code. Importers of Cooper’s products who cannot make the treatment declaration should ensure that their consignments of wood of oak, originating in the USA, are accompanied with phytosanitary certificates and that the wood meets the landing requirements of GB.

4. Interception of non-compliant solid wood packaging material and other material imports.

The infographic illustrating the top GB ports and associated top international trading supply regions, where non-compliant wood packaging material has been intercepted, has been updated for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

5. Tree Health & Biosecurity eLearning available

There are a number of short eLearning modules available for free for anyone with an interest in finding out more about tree health and biosecurity.

The modules provide an introduction to a number of topics for those less familiar with plant health, including:

• How pests and diseases spread
• Why you should carry a biosecurity kit and what should be in it
• Legislation
• How to responsibly source plants for planting
• Plant passporting
• Wood packaging material

Please feel free to pass on the link to others who may be interested.

6. Please address any queries relating to the above information to:

Forestry Commission
Plant Health Service
Silvan House
231 Corstorphine Road
Edinburgh
EH12 7AT

Telephone: 0300 067 5155 Email: plant.health@forestrycommission.gov.uk