laws or restrictions on mailing seeds/plants to another country

From: jbauer <"jbauer at concordnc.com" at concordnc.com> on 1997.12.01 at 21:37:29(1676) Hi All, What are the laws or restrictions on mailing seeds or plants to another country? I heard of someone having to sneak Primrose seeds through customs from England to the US. Several years ago many of the horticultural crops in California were wiped out because of a plant imported with an insect. As a result California is very strict about importing any agricultural products. I would like to send seeds to one of our Aroider friends in England. Has anyone had success with mailing seeds from the US to England? Thanks, Judy Bauer +More 8440 Huckleberry Trl Concord NC 28027 plant zone 7

From: Sue Haffner <sue_haffner at csufresno.edu> on 1997.12.02 at 05:01:40(1679) Judy, The U.S. has no restrictions on mailing seed to or receiving it from other countries (unless the plants are listed on the CITES I list.) Most other countries do not restrict receipt of seed, but your friend should make inquiries as to whether there are any special regulations regarding this. (New Zealand, for instance, requires that an inventory with botanical names accompany the shipment.) I mail seed all over the world in my job as CSSA Seed Depot Director, and have never had any interference of any sort. Plants are a different matter. You can send cuttings without any trouble, but plants with roots might be intercepted and destroyed, even if they are washed as clean as possible. A friend in Sweden and I exchanged cut African violet leaves for years and never had any problems. But, you are right about California laws. A grower in Hawaii cannot send plants or cuttings to Calif. because of the burrowing nematode. Calif. Agriculture will inspect any box labelled 'plants', and may return it directly to the sender. Sue Haffner +More > > Hi All, > What are the laws or restrictions on mailing seeds or plants to another > country? > I heard of someone having to sneak Primrose seeds through customs from > England to the US. > Several years ago many of the horticultural crops in California were > wiped out because of a plant imported with an insect. As a result > California is very strict about importing any agricultural products. > I would like to send seeds to one of our Aroider friends in England. > Has anyone had success with mailing seeds from the US to England? > Thanks, > Judy Bauer > 8440 Huckleberry Trl > Concord NC 28027 > plant zone 7 > >

From: Kevin Martyn <n9730000 at cc.wwu.edu> on 1997.12.02 at 05:21:19(1682) jbauer wrote: > > Hi All, > What are the laws or restrictions on mailing seeds or plants to another > country? > I heard of someone having to sneak Primrose seeds through customs from > England to the US. > Several years ago many of the horticultural crops in California were > wiped out because of a plant imported with an insect. As a result > California is very strict about importing any agricultural products. > I would like to send seeds to one of our Aroider friends in England. > Has anyone had success with mailing seeds from the US to England? > Thanks, > Judy Bauer > 8440 Huckleberry Trl > Concord NC 28027 > plant zone 7 Judy, You can contact the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Management Authority, P.O. Box 3507, Arlington, Virginia 22203-3507. (703)358-2104. Ask for Circular PPQ Q.37-10, this will describe the steps to take to import and export plants and seeds (particularly CITES protected species). They'll probably ask to fax it to you. It states that if you wish to export CITES or ESA plants you can obtain an export permit from the same office. It does not state what is necessary to export unprotected species. I suspect you will need some sort of permit from the country of destination though. You may want to address this issue of unprotected plants while on the phone. In either case, the literature says that they will also help determine the foreign agency you need to contact. For anyone who might want to import, also ask for an application for a USDA permit (PPQ form 587). Hope this leads to all the answers. Please post what you find out, I think a lot of people might like to know this stuff. Thanks! Kevin Martyn +More n9730000@cc.wwu.edu

From: "John H. Lawrence" <jhl at kuentos.guam.net> on 1997.12.02 at 14:24:34(1683) i think that USDA has a different view on the importation of seeds into the united states. many seeds are restricted and all or most, if doing it by the book, must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from a Government or otherwise approved "seed expert" certifying the seed to be clean and free of "other stuff." i guess there are some blanket provisions for certain types of seeds. i am required to have a permit for importing seed. sending seed is not a problem but most places require some sort of permit for legal entry. cyprus for example requires an entry permit. of course the postal services in most countries don't examine each piece of mail so if you are sending small lots for hobby growers...... but then we all have to be careful about introductions that can ruin local agriculture or otherwise upset the precarious balances from place to place.

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at classic.msn.com> on 1997.12.02 at 14:40:06(1686) ---------- Sent: Monday, December 01, 1997 4:37 PM To: ju-bo@msn.com +More Subject: laws or restrictions on mailing seeds/plants to another country >>Hi All, What are the laws or restrictions on mailing seeds or plants to another country? I heard of someone having to sneak Primrose seeds through customs from England to the US. Several years ago many of the horticultural crops in California were wiped out because of a plant imported with an insect. As a result California is very strict about importing any agricultural products. I would like to send seeds to one of our Aroider friends in England. Has anyone had success with mailing seeds from the US to England? Thanks, Judy Bauer 8440 Huckleberry Trl Concord NC 28027 plant zone 7<< Dec. 2nd,1997. Dear Judy, At the P.O. you will be asked to fill out and sign a custom`s declaration form, and I wrote "cleaned, treated Aroid seeds for research purposes only" and declared "N.C.V" for their value. They went through fine. I have used this method to send Aroid seeds all over the world with nary a problem. Good luck, and clean your seed well. leaving no trace of fruit or skin around them. Julius ju-bo@msn.com

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