Agriculture & Food

China has a long history of exporting seedlings and flowers, with many varieties and large quantities. Japan, as an important neighbor of China, is also one of the main destinations of China's seedlings and flowers export. As seedlings and flowers are very easy to carry pests for long-distance transmission, Japan has formulated quite a number of inspection and quarantine regulations to strengthen the plant protection work in the country. At the same time, China has also issued some regulations to promote the healthy development of the import and export seedlings and flowers industry. Next, let's talk about the requirements for the international trade of seedlings and flowers to export to Japan.

1、 Phytosanitary requirements implemented in Japan

In recent years, Japan has developed five catalogues, including the list of quarantine pests, the list of plants prohibited from entering the country, the list of plants that need to be inspected at the planting place of the exporting country, the list of plants that need to implement specific plant quarantine measures in the exporting country, and the list of non quarantine pests, which are updated frequently.

01. List of prohibited entry

① List of quarantine pests

The list came into force in 2011. According to the occurrence of pests, Japan has revised the list almost every year. The latest revision was in March 2022. It includes 1023 species (genera) of quarantine pests, of which more than 100 pests have occurred in China, including the newly added tomato mottle mosaic virus. According to the Japanese Plant Protection Law, quarantine pests are prohibited from entering Japan.

② List of Plants Prohibited from Entering China

The plants or plant products from some regions listed in the list are easy to carry some highly dangerous quarantine pests, but they are prohibited from entering Japan due to the lack of effective treatment measures. The Chinese plants involved in the list include: the living roots, leaves and fresh fruits of cucurbitaceae plants that are easy to carry fruit flies are prohibited from entering Japan; The living vines, leaves, massive roots, underground stems, cassava roots and underground parts of the genera Dioscorea, sweet potato and morning glory, which are easy to carry sweet potato ants, are prohibited from entering Japan; Apple fruits and apricot fruits that are easy to carry the apple moth are prohibited from entering Japan.

02. List of restricted entry

③ List of plants to be inspected at the place of planting in the exporting country and detailed requirements for each quarantine pest involved.

The list is mainly aimed at plants for planting from a certain country or region. Exporting countries need to monitor pests in the list during the plant growth period, and indicate in the plant quarantine certificate that no relevant pests have been monitored. There are 23 kinds of pests in the list, all of which are listed in the "Quarantine Pest List". For example, the planting seeds of muskmelon, watermelon and wax gourd from China should indicate in the plant quarantine certificate that "no bacterial fruit spot disease occurs during the growth period.

④ A list of plants for which specific phytosanitary measures are implemented in the exporting country.

The list stipulates the list of plants subject to specific plant quarantine measures in the exporting country and the detailed requirements for each quarantine pest. Plants from some countries are allowed to enter Japan only after they have been tested and proved to be free of certain pests. For example, the seeds of Bidonglai from China and some other plants need to be tested by RT-PCR before export in international trade. At the same time, it should be noted in the additional statement that "the mother plants of these plants are from places where potato spindle tuber virus does not occur, and these mother plants or seeds are tested by appropriate genetic methods, such as RT-PCR, without the above pests."

⑤ List of non quarantine pests.

The list refers to the fact that the imported plants and plant products have occurred in Japan and no measures are taken against these pests. At present, the list includes 506 species and 5 genera of pests, including 421 species of arthropods, 7 species of mollusks, 1 species of nematodes and 58 species and 5 genera of fungi; There are 3 kinds of bacteria and 16 kinds of viruses. Japan stipulates that if new pests are not included in the list of quarantine pests or non quarantine pests, it is necessary to determine whether they are quarantine pests on the basis of risk analysis.

It can be seen from the above that Japan has made clear regulatory requirements for all types of pests easily carried by imported seedlings to protect its agricultural and forestry industries. However, in terms of varieties, food crops, solanaceae, cucurbitaceae, gramineous crops, fruits and other cash crops are the focus of the country's attention. Therefore, the customs remind relevant trade enterprises to, We should pay attention to changes in relevant policy requirements in a timely manner to facilitate the smooth development of international trade.

2、 Qualification requirements for enterprises exporting seedlings and flowers

The registration of production enterprises can be divided into two types, one is the registration of planting bases, and the other is the registration of processing and packaging plants and warehouses. The relevant registration requirements mainly involve the quality and safety assurance system, pest monitoring and control of production enterprises, etc. International trade enterprises with demand can learn about them in detail through the service guide on the "Internet+Customs" page of the General Administration of Customs.

At present, the registration of outbound seedlings and flowers is handled online through the "Internet plus+Customs" page on the website of the General Administration of Customs. When applying, the enterprise shall submit three types of materials, including the application form for registration of the enterprise engaged in the production and operation of outbound seedlings and flowers, the schematic diagram of the planting base and processing and packaging plant, the plan of the testing laboratory, the photos of the main production and processing areas, and the disinfection and treatment facilities, the training certificates of plant protection professionals, quality supervisors, and the testing personnel of the enterprise laboratory, as well as the corresponding qualifications and qualification certificates.

After accepting the application, the customs shall conduct a comprehensive review according to the legal conditions and procedures, and make a decision within 20 working days from the date of acceptance.

3、 Customs quarantine of exported seedlings and flowers and treatment of unqualified ones

The customs' quarantine basis for the export of seedlings and flowers in international trade includes the quarantine requirements specified in the relevant animal and plant quarantine regulations of the importing country or region and China, bilateral quarantine agreements and trade contracts. The quarantine content mainly involves whether the goods certificate is consistent, whether the product is marked, whether it is handled according to the requirements of the importing country, and whether it is determined that no pests controlled by the importing country are carried. If the seedlings and flowers have passed the quarantine inspection or passed the disinfection treatment, a plant quarantine certificate shall be issued and they shall be allowed to leave the country; Those who fail to pass the quarantine inspection and have no effective method for disinfection and disinfestation shall not be allowed to leave the country.