[Animal and Plant Quarantine] Key Points for Exporting Cut Flowers!

Exporting Cut Flowers Key Points for Animal and Plant Quarantine

China is the world’s largest flower planting country, as well as a major producer and exporter of fresh-cut flowers, with fresh-cut flower products being popular in the international market.

Today, let’s learn about the knowledge of exporting fresh-cut flowers together.

PART 1

Main types of exported fresh-cut flowers

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Fresh-cut flowers are divided into broad and narrow categories. Broadly, fresh-cut flowers refer to plant materials cut from the plant for viewing or decoration, including fresh-cut flowers, leaves, and branches. Narrowly, fresh-cut flowers only refer to flowers with a certain length of stem cut from the plant that have viewing and decorative effects.

PART 2

Exporting seedlings and flowers

Qualifications required by production and operation enterprises

The customs implements a registration system for production and operation enterprises exporting seedlings and flowers, and the approval is based on the “Implementation Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine Law”.

Conditions for filing planting bases

1. Meet the plant health and quarantine requirements stipulated by China and importing countries or regions;

2. No major plant epidemics or significant quality and safety incidents have occurred in the past two years;

3. Establish a sound quality management system. The quality management system documents include organizational structure, personnel training, monitoring and control of harmful organisms, management of agricultural chemicals, good agricultural practices, traceability system, and other related information;

4. Establish planting records, and record in detail the source and flow of seedlings and flowers, planting and harvesting times, and daily management of monitoring and control measures for harmful organisms.

5. A full-time or part-time professional technical personnel should be equipped to be responsible for the monitoring, reporting, prevention and control of harmful organisms in the base;

6. Comply with other relevant regulations.

Requirements for processing, packaging plants and storage warehouses:

1. The factory area should be clean and hygienic, with raw material yards and finished product warehouses that meet the requirements for storing seedlings and flowers;

2. The functional areas such as storage, processing, handling and storage should be relatively independent and laid out reasonably, and should be separated from the living area and have an appropriate distance;

3. They should have facilities that meet the quarantine requirements for cleaning, processing, insect and disease prevention, and necessary pest control;

4. The water sources used for processing seedlings and flowers and the agricultural chemicals used must meet the requirements for sanitation and environmental protection of China and the importing countries or regions;

5. Establish a sound quality management system, including epidemic prevention and control measures, emergency response measures, personnel training, etc. for processing, packaging, storage and transportation of seedlings and flowers;

6. Establish product purchase and sales account books, and have detailed records of the traceability information of seedlings and flowers at various stages;

7. The packaging materials for exporting seedlings and flowers should be clean and hygienic, and should not be reused. The information such as the name, quantity, registration number of the production and operation enterprise, and production batch number of the goods should be marked on the packaging box;

8. Equipped with full-time or part-time professional technical personnel responsible for the implementation of epidemic prevention measures, quality and safety control, and self-inspection of finished products in the links of raw material seedling and flower acceptance, processing, packaging, and storage;

9. Have a planting base that can provide seedlings and flowers in accordance with its processing capacity, or have a fixed supply relationship with a registered planting base.

10. Comply with other relevant regulations.

Materials Required for Filing Application

●1. Application form for registration of enterprises engaged in the production and operation of exported seedlings and flowers (with official seal);

●2. Layout drawings of planting bases and processing and packaging plants, floor plans of testing laboratories, photos of main production and processing areas, and pest control facilities;

●3. Quality management documents and relevant records.

PART ➂

Quarantine and Customs Requirements for Exporting Fresh Cut Flowers

According to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine and the quarantine agreements between the Chinese government and relevant countries, exported flowers must undergo quarantine declaration to the customs.

On-site Quarantine Procedures of the Customs

1. Check the packaging, cushioning materials, and containers for soil, pests, and weed seeds, etc.

2. Verify the number and variety of plants;

3. Inspect the plants;

4. Bring back suspicious samples of flowers, leaves, and insects found during the inspection for quarantine identification;

5. Sample quarantine. According to the requirements, samples are taken and sent to the laboratory for laboratory quarantine testing. The laboratory conducts quarantine identification on quarantine objects such as flowers, leaves, and insects with suspicious symptoms or abnormal appearance found during on-site quarantine.

Quarantine result assessment and quarantine treatment

The assessment and treatment of quarantine results are divided into the following situations:

●1. For those who pass the inspection and quarantine or pass the re-inspection after treatment, the “Plant Quarantine Certificate” will be issued and they will be allowed to exit.

●2. For items that require fumigation certification, after qualified fumigation treatment, a “Fumigation/Sterilization Certificate” shall be issued.

●3. For items that do not meet the phytosanitary requirements of the importing country or region, safety and hygiene testing standards, bilateral phytosanitary agreements, protocols, memoranda, and agreements between governments and government departments, or inspection and quarantine requirements related to trade contracts or letters of credit, if they are processed by effective methods and pass the re-inspection and quarantine, they are allowed to exit and a “Phytosanitary Certificate” shall be issued. If there are no effective methods for processing, a “Notice of Unqualified Goods for Export” shall be issued, and they are not allowed to exit.

●4. If the symptoms of pests and diseases are severe and do not meet the requirements, they must be reprocessed, such as removing branches, leaves, flowers, etc. that have disease or rot. If necessary, exchange for other goods, and reapply for declaration.

Materials required by enterprises when applying for export declaration

1. Foreign trade contract;

2. Invoice;

3. Packing list;

4. Registration and qualification for export of seeds and flowers;

5. Other required documents.

Notes

1. The customs declaration unit and the export planting base should have relevant customs declaration qualifications;

2. Exported fresh cut flowers must come from registered and qualified planting bases;

3. The types of fresh cut flowers declared for export must comply with the phytosanitary requirements, relevant agreements and documents related to phytosanitary measures listed in the importing country or region, and also meet the requirements of local industry associations for commodities;

4. For species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an import and export permit must be provided.

TIP

▌If the fresh cut flowers comply with the export declaration regulations after verification, they will be accepted by customs; otherwise, they will not be accepted.

▌Fresh cut flowers are fresh products. It is recommended that enterprises with export qualifications communicate with customs in advance after confirming foreign demand.

The above guide for exporting fresh cut flowers is based on the current laws, regulations, and relevant policies. Some regulations may be dynamically adjusted. If there are any adjustments, please refer to the real-time specific requirements of the General Administration of Customs and the competent customs.

*This content is for reference only. Please follow the latest requirements if there are any adjustments.

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