New import requirements

New Import requirements for wood and wood packaging material (including dunnage) entering the European Community – ISPM15

On the 1^st March 2005 new measures were enforced by the European Community and its member states for wood packaging material (coniferous and non-coniferous raw wood) used for the import of objects of all kinds from all countries, with the exception of Switzerland.  In particular the relevant provisions of the Plant Health Directive 200/89/EC on wood packaging material were aligned with provisions of the FAO International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (SPM15) on Guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade.  ISPM15 was adopted in 2002 and an increasing number of countries are putting in place import requirements in line with this phytosanitary standard.   The measures of the European Community are to practically eliminate the risk for most quarantine pests such as Asian Longhorn Beetle and Pine Wood Nematode and significantly reduce the risk from a number of other pests that may be associated with that material.

The new rules, which are set out in Commission Directive 2004/102/EC, have been incorporated into our national legislation.

Specific requirements of the European Community

From the 1st March 2005 wood packaging material (such as packing cases, cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, palllets, box pallets and other load boards, pallet collars) can only be imported into the European Community if they meet the following requirements.

The wood packaging material shall:

• be made from debarked round wood (this requirement shall only apply from 1st January 2009), and
   
• be subject to one of the approved measures as specified in ISPM15, notably;
   
  
  • heat treatment of the wood packaging material that achieves a minimum wood core temperature of 56 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 30 minutes, or
     
  • the wood packaging material should be fumigated with Methyl bromide in alignment with requirements described in Annex 1 of ISPM15 and
     
• display a mark with;
  the two-letter ISO country code, a code identifying the producer and the code identifying the approved measure applied to the wood packaging material as specified in Annex II of ISPM15.

and

• in the case of wood packaging material manufactured, repaired or recycled as of 1st March 2005, also the logo as specified in Annex II to ISPM15 ie the IPPC logo1.
  
  ¹ IPPC - International Plant Protection Convention, FAO Rome
  
• However, the requirement for the inclusion of the IPPC logo in the mark is not applicable on a temporary basis until 31 December 2007 in the case of wood packaging material manufactured, repaired or recycled before 28th February 2005.

An example of the correct marks as applied by in the United Kingdom for exporting wood packaging material to countries, which have implemented ISPM15 or that have implemented emergency measures requiring the material to be to be debarked eg China’s Announcement 2002/58.

SAMPLE MARK	Country Code
		Unique UKWPMMP Registration No Leading zeros are optional if printing space is limited
		Forestry Commission logo The inclusion of the words'Forestry Commission' is optional if printing space is limited
IPPC logo	Treatment code (as appropriate)

Examples of marks on wood packaging material manufactured before 28th February 2005 (produced in Canada, Japan and the People’s Republic of China)

It is important to note that these requirements do not apply to raw wood of 6mm thickness or less, and wood packaging material constructed entirely from processed wood produced by glue, heat and pressure, or a combination thereof eg plywood, oriented strand board, particle board etc. Additionally the requirements do not apply to wood packaging material, which is simply being moved from one EU Member State to another.

There is no requirement for ISPM15 compliant wood packaging material to be accompanied with a phytosanitary certificate as the certification is provided via the wood mark.

For loose wood used to wedge or support non-wood cargo (also referred to as dunnage), specific requirements also came into place on 1^st March 2005. Dunnage should either be made from bark-free wood that is free from pests and signs of live pests OR should meet the aforementioned ISPM15 requirements for wood packaging material (i.e. be made from debarked round wood (applies from 1^st January 2009), be subject to one of the approved treatment measures and display a mark. For clarity - bearers, stickers and spacers, which form part of a timber pack (ie the timber pack is the cargo) and are integrated into timber packs they do not need to be treated and marked to ISPM15 standards. This is because they are certified as meeting our landing requirements via the phytosanitary, industry or mill certificate which accompanies the pack of timber.

From 1^st January 2008 onwards, only loose dunnage that meets the requirements of ISPM15 will be allowed to enter the EU.

Wood products (other than Wood Packaging Material)

For most wood products, the existing requirements will continue to apply. New treatment options, such as heat treatment for all conifer wood, regardless of country of origin, have been agreed AND THESE WILL BE ACCEPTED in Great Britain from 1 March.

More detailed information regarding the new treatment options can be viewed in the ‘Wood Package’ summary note (issued December 2003) .