Russian import ban on EU plant material in effect

Since Teusday 2nd of July, the Russian federation has decreed an import ban on plant materials from the European Union which do not conform to the country’s new stringent phytosanitary standards. The exact implications remain unclear, but cut flowers are not affected by the ban, as yet.

The new set of restrictions was already being considered in March, as Flortint.org reported back then, but the European Union had managed to delay it through negotiations. Those do not appear to have had the intended effect of getting the import ban officially off the table, however.

The phytosanitary demands primarily apply to seed potatoes and potted plants which originate in regions that have yet to be inspected for harmful pests by Russia’s inspection services. Products from approved territories would be allowed to cross the border, but much remains vague as to how this separation would take place in practice.

“It is unclear how elaborate the new strict demands are and what exact plants they apply to. We don’t know, for example, whether the restrictions only apply to plant material that comes with soil. Neither do we know what instructions the Russian customs officers have been given regarding products arriving at their borders in the coming days," Union Fleurs comments.

Talks with Russia will, naturally, continue in an attempt to get more clarity and to get the new policy undone as soon as possible.

Source: Florint.org