EU law on importing plants?

[vanda]

(I wasn't quite sure witch forum this post belongs in, so please forgive me if I got the wrong one)

Does any one know the law about import/export of orchid plants within the EU? i.e. what papers are needed. There are a lot of thoughts on this one but I'm having problems finding any solid info.

[Restrepia]

I have had similar problems. The only concrete piece that I have read is that flasked seedlings and tissue
cultures of orchids are exempt from CITES trade restrictions.

I would be interested to know more about this confusing topic.

[Dorothy]

Allow me to direct you to a post about this subject and hopefully you'll questions will be answered
Cheers

Exporting/importing orchids

[vanda]

Thank you Dorothy, that link was useful however I believe the laws are a little different within Europe.That is a good idea, I will try that. The problem is I have a feeling here in Portugal I will get five different answes if I phone five times. Lots of people say there is no restriction at all but I think that is wishful thinking!
It might be true for flasks.

[Dorothy]

You are very welcome
Good luck .. just keep asking!

[Magnus A]

In general, within EU you can by orchids and flasks without any paper as long as they are not picked from nature. This is the hole point with EU, free trade and free movement of goods and people.
But there can be local restrictions on certain native orchids!
So you should not need any paper when you by orchids from grovers within EU if the plant is raised from seeds.
If you want to import orchid from outside EU you need an import permit from your home country and the one you by from needs to get a phytosanitary certificate and CITES documentation from the official authority in the origin nation.

[Tricho]

Dear Vanda

I seems to me that you are not asking the right people in Portugal (at least)!

I believe the first thing one person should do is to ask the help of the local orchid community. Of course, the choice is yours.

Magnus is right and you can import everything within European Union if the sources are legitimate. If there is any local restriction and the business is legal, they would not sell it.

All the best

[vanda]

Thanks for your help.
I live in Portugal but I am not Portuguese so for language reasons I prefer to find out info on the net to start with.

What I was worried about is that often people misunerstand laws or simply say what is good for them then the info starts to spread, me an inexperienced buyer doesn't know if the info is legit or not!

I have been doing lots of research and my conclusion pretty much agrees with Magnus, thanks for putting it in a simple straight forward way magnus.

Here are some links I found if anyone is interested in seeing the answer in black and white.

CITES info:
Welcome to CITES
Environment - CITES - Implementation
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Conservation and Wildlife: Cites and Plants - a User's Guide

Plant passports (I don't know of any orchids that require a plant passport):
Defra, UK - Plant Health - Plant passports[/EMAIL]

Phytosanitary Certificates (for trade with non EU contries):
http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/publi...r/impguide.pdf