Japan issued an important notice on the plant quarantine certificate attached to imported plants and plant products.

On August 31, 2022, the Plant Quarantine Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan issued an important notice requiring that imported plants and plant products must be accompanied by a plant quarantine certificate issued by the exporting country and subject to import inspection by Japan. Goods without a plant quarantine certificate will be disposed of in accordance with the Plant Protection Law. This requirement will be formally implemented on August 5, 2023, and will be followed by a transition period for the establishment of a phytosanitary certificate issuance system for exporting countries.

List of Products

At present, the list of imported plants and plant products required to be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates issued by Japan is released in April 2021, and may still be revised in the future.

Product list details are as follows:

1. Plants for cultivation

Seedlings, rootstocks, scions, scale bulbs, seeds, tissue culture seedlings.

Fresh plants for consumption (except frozen products)

Cut flowers, cut leaves, fresh fruits, vegetables.

3, Cereals and Legumes

(Except compressed, chopped, crushed, crushed)

Chenopodiaceae seeds: quinoa, etc.

Gramineous seeds: rice (polished rice, brown rice), wheat (wheat, barley, rye, etc.), corn, millet, millet, barnyard, canary grass seeds, wild rice, etc.

Polygonaceae seeds: buckwheat, etc.

Amaranaceae seeds: purslane, etc.

Leguminous seeds: soybean, red bean, mung bean, kidney bean, pea, broad bean, cowpea, lupin, peanut, lentil, chickpea, etc.

4. Wood

Except compressed, chopped, crushed, crushed, and other than wood packaging materials.

5. Fertilizer, feed, agricultural and forestry production materials

Dry forage: alfalfa, timothy, ryegrass, sudan grass, etc.

Fertilizer and feed: feed with alfalfa, beet meal and soybean meal as raw materials.

Cultivation medium: Sphagnum moss, water moss, snake wood, coconut husk, basswood, bark, bamboo, etc.

6. Dried flowers, spices, traditional Chinese medicine and other dried plants

Dry break: branches of beech, fruit or peel of orange, cassava root.

Dry and crushed: orange fruit, tamarind fruit, cassava root.

Dry (uncompressed crushed or crushed):

Leaves, branches, and bark of the Italian Casa pine,

The leaves, branches, flowers and fruits of Eucalyptus Stuart,

The leaves, branches, flowers and fruits of the multi-branched eucalyptus,

Perilla seeds,

The seeds of the cacao tree,

Japanese chestnut in shell,

West African yellow sandalwood bark,

Walnut with shell,

Cilantro leaves and seeds,

The leaves, branches, flowers and fruits of pepper,

Sesame seeds,

Pomegranate fruit,

The leaves, branches and bark of pine trees,

The fruit of the fir tree,

Western rape seeds,

Senna leaves,

tamarind fruit,

Chestnut with shell,

Tung seeds,

Black cumin seeds,

Cotyledon and stem,

The leaves, branches and bark of the shore pine,

Caraway seeds,

Brazil nut seeds,

Safflower and seed,

The leaves and seeds of burdock (basil),

The leaves, branches and flowers of the almond,

European juniper fruit,

Leaves, branches and flowers of the European beech,

Moringa leaves and fruits,

Chenopodiaceae seeds,

Gramineae seeds (purple corn, large corn, corn, coix seed, etc., also including dried flowers with ears, etc.),

Seeds of Polygonaceae,

seeds of the family Amaranthaceae,

Leguminous seeds (cassia, fenugreek, etc.).

7 Other

Frozen walnut (walnut with shell), rice straw, wheat straw, etc., and host plants of important diseases and insect pests specified in items 14 and 15 of schedule 2 of the regulations for the implementation of the plant protection law (even if they are produced outside the prohibited area).

Related considerations

1, should be attached but not attached to the plant quarantine certificate of the goods, the Japanese side will be in accordance with the "plant protection law" for destruction.

2,

Japan's "Plant Protection Law" prohibits the import of plant products, even if accompanied by a plant quarantine certificate, are not allowed to import.

3. If the origin inspection and laboratory testing are required in the exporting country, the corresponding inspection and testing shall be indicated in the additional statement of the plant quarantine certificate. Detailed information can be obtained by searching the "Import Condition Database" on the website of Japan Plant Quarantine Institute.

4、

Japan has given exporting countries a transitional period to establish a system for issuing phytosanitary certificates, but from August 5, 2023, it is required that phytosanitary certificates must be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates.

5. If the imported goods are not accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, even if they are accompanied by other certificates, such

Health Certificate (Health Certificate)

Certificates of origin (Certificate of origin), certificates of permitted import and export of wild animals and plants (CITES-related certificates), etc., will also be destroyed.

6、

In addition to the phytosanitary certificate, the Japanese phytosanitary officer may require the accompanying invoice, bill of lading, manifest, air waybill, etc., when deemed necessary.

Customs reminder

China's export enterprises exporting plants and plant products to Japan should pay close attention to the relevant requirements of Japan on the accompanying phytosanitary certificate, fully understand and make relevant preparations, so as to avoid the trade obstruction caused by the lack of relevant phytosanitary certificate after the formal implementation of the requirement on August 5, 2023.