Phytosanitary supervision

Natural and legal persons, which:

• grow potatoes on an area of more than one hectare or potatoes intended for sale;
• import and move from third countries (that are not EU Member States) fruits and vegetables, as well as plants for planting, cut flowers and branches, wood, timber;
• are growers of fruit trees, ornamental plants, which are required to have plant passport to be moved or distributed;
• produce seeds of species, which are required to have plant passport to be distributed;
• are owners or caretakers of commercial orchards (apple, pear, quince) referred to in the legislation on the control and containment of fire blight;
• are exporters required to obtain a phytosanitary certificate for the export of plants and plant products;
• mark wood packaging material, wood or other objects in accordance with ISPM 15;
• are involved in international passenger and freight transport (airport, seaport;
• provide postal services.

A person not registered in the Register may not import from third countries plants and plant products subject to phytosanitary control and objects coming into contact with such plants and plant products and shall not have plant passports and other phytosanitary documents issued.

Wood packaging material are pallets, boxes, crates, reels, supports, barrels, liners, etc., made of wood and used for transporting different types of goods.

As wood packaging is used for the transport of almost all product groups worldwide, it is very important to use wood packaging material that minimises the risk of introducing dangerous pests from one country into another. 

Experience has shown that pests can be easily and quickly transported with wood packaging materials, but the fight to limit introduced pests is long, difficult, expensive, and not always successful. For example, the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which causes widespread pine wilt was introduced by wood packaging material to Portugal in 1999. Despite very strict phytosanitary measures ever since, Portugal has not been able to eradicate this harmful pest and it has spread throughout the entire country. 

In order to reduce the risk of spreading pests with wood packaging material, uniform requirements have been developed as laid down in the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 'Regulation of Wood Packaging Material in International Trade' (hereinafter referred to as 'ISPM 15').

The requirements of ISPM 15 apply to the countries which have implemented it. When exporting to these countries, shipments containing wood packaging material must comply with the specified handling and marking requirements for wood packaging.

Wood packaging material must be made from debarked wood, properly treated and appropriately labelled.

Approved treatments:

• Heat treatment (treatment type designation HT) - the temperature inside the wood must be at least 56°C for at least 30 minutes during the treatment.
• Fumigation with methyl bromide (treatment type MB) - the use of methyl bromide has been banned in the European Union since 18 March 2009.

Heat treatment of wood packaging material may be carried out by companies:

• which are registered in the Official Register of Professional Operators of the State Plant Protection Service; and
• have heat treatment process certified by a certification body.

If the company producing the Wood packaging material does not carry out the heat treatment itself, but produces Wood packaging material from wood that has already been heat treated, it may only buy wood from companies that are registered with the State Plant Protection Service and have had their heat treatment process certified by a certification body. Such wood must also be appropriately labelled.

ISPM 15 does not apply to wood packaging material:

• in the manufacture of which glue, heat treatment or pressure has been applied - plywood, particle board, fibreboard, oriented strand board and veneer;
• sawdust, wood wool, wood shavings;
• made wholly of thin wood, of a thickness not exceeding six millimetres, and particles produced from rough wood that do not exceed six millimetres in size;
• wine and spirit casks, if they have been heated during the manufacturing process;
• gift boxes for wine, cigarettes, etc., provided that they have been treated during manufacture by another method which ensures protection against plant quarantine organisms;
• wooden components which are permanently attached to goods vehicles and containers.

Marking affirms that wood packaging material has been produced in accordance with requirements of ISPM 15 prasībām (from appropriately treated debarked wood. Marking may only be carried out by  companies registered in the Official Register of Professional Operators of the State Plant Protection Service! Wood packaging material can only be marked after heat treatment.

Marking contains: 

• IPPC symbol (on left side of marking and separated from other information);
• Two letter ISO country code and the code identifying manufacturer. Latvian companies use registration in the Official Register of Professional Operators assigned by the State Plant Protection Service number  (for example if registration number is 099, the code is LV–099);
• abbreviation denoting the type of treatment, e.g. HT if the wood packaging material has been heat treated.

Marking may not contain any other information (e.g. markings KD, DB, logo of the company), such information may be included outside the border of the mark. 

Marking must be:

• clearly legible and durable (paint that bleeds or runs in the rain must not be used);
• non-moveable (the marking must not be on paper, stickers or a board attached to wood packaging material);
• in a clearly visible position and on at least two opposite sides of the material marked;
• rectangular or square in shape, with demarcated edges.

Importnat!!!

• Marking cannot be red or orange as several countries use these colors for marking hazardous goods.
• Marking cannot be drawn by hand.

Legal entities authorised to carry out heat treatment process certification