Hi, I thought I'd talk about my experience so far trying to import some figs from Europe. Last year I looked into what it takes to legally import a fig tree. I discovered that ebay also has sister sites for Europe separate from the US ebay. I believe the individual was a nursery in France selling a fig variety I was interested in obtaining. I researched and applied online for a Post Entry Quarantine Permit. You need to first set up an online account with the USDA APHIS and then physically go to a local office to verify your identity to finalize the account setup process. On line you then fill out the request for the permit. If approved you will receive all the paperwork and labels in the mail. That paperwork would then need to be sent to the country importing the plant material. It might be the European Union but I think the mail system there is not as easy to navigate as here where you can just go down and drop of a package at your local USPS. I sent my permit but the seller finally said it was too difficult to navigate the permit and mailing process to the US. After considering this process I believe it is best that I did not successfully import that fig tree. I am not a business and it is only a hobby. Importing the fig would have opened up the door to a USDA inspector to come to my private property. Having successfully imported a fig tree is just the beginning of the process. Here is what the permits states. That fig has to be in quarantine on your property. If an inspector finds that you haven't followed proper procedures or that there is some indication of contamination, he could order everything destroyed including your domestic fig trees. I decided not to venture down that road. I'll find my figs here in the US.
THIS PERMIT AUTHORIZES THE IMPORTATION OF THE FOLLOWING POSTENTRY GENERA.
1. All plant material will be grown on premises supervised and controlled by me, located as specified in the Growing
Locations section, and will not be moved or distributed without prior written permission of the appropriate State or
Territory Official and the Coordinator, Postentry Quarantine Program, Riverdale, MD.
2. Properly identified officers, either Federal and/or State, will be given access to the premises listed in the Growing
Locations section during regular business hours.
3. No increase of these plants by cuttings, grafting, suckers, flowers, seeds or air layers will be made; there will be
no distribution of the plants or increase; and no cutting of flowers for sale will be made until the plants are released
from postentry quarantine, or written permission of the (as in the first condition above).
4. The plant material and all increase there from will be labeled by specific plant name, port accession number, and
date of importation.
5. The plant material will be separated from domestic stock of the same genus including such stock on adjoining
premises, by no less than 3 meters (approximately 10 feet); and will be separated from other imported plants by the
same distance.
6. Any treatments prescribed by the officer including destruction of the quarantined plant material or other plants
growing on the premises will be complied with to prevent the dissemination of a plant pest.
7. The appropriate State or Territory Official will be notified in writing within 30 days when any abnormality is
noticed in the plant material or if the plant material dies. Dead plants will be retained and collected by the officer for
analysis.
8. Notification of change of address will be sent to the appropriate State or Territory Official and the Coordinator,
Postentry Quarantine Program, Riverdale MD.
9. Plants of Rubus spp. from Europe will be grown in a screenhouse (16 mesh per inch minimum); plants of
Chrysanthemum spp. Dendranthema spp., Leucanthemella serotina, Nipponanthemum nipponicum, Dianthus spp.,
and Hydrangea spp. will be grown in a greenhouse or other enclosed building.
10. The postentry requirements will be applied to Chrysanthemum spp. for 6 months after importation, to Dianthus
spp. for 1 year after importation, to Hydrangea spp. for 9 months after importation, to Humulus spp. (hops), a
meristem culture of the imported plant will be observed for 6 months, and the original plant will be destroyed after
the meristem culture is established. After the 6-month observation, the meristem culture-generated plant must remain
in postentry quarantine for an additional year. All other plants under the postentry quarantine program will be
observed and grown for 2 years after importation.
11. POSTENTRY PLANT MATERIAL LISTED BELOW
(SPECIAL PROVISIONS MAY APPLY)
The plant material (listed above) you wish to import under postentry quarantine is to be grown at (site listed above)
in accordance with the agreement dated May 3, 2011.
12. Under the Plant Protection Act, individuals or corporations who fail to comply with the following conditions
andauthorizations, or who forge, counterfeit, or deface permits or shipping labels may receive civil or criminal
penalties,and may have all current permits cancelled and future permit applications denied. Additionally, the
permittee is responsible for ensuring that plant materials imported under this permit comply with all applicable
requirements stated in Title 7 Code of Federal Regulations Part 319.37.
13. A phytosanitary certificate must accompany all propagative material imported under this permit.
14. Promptly upon arrival of any restricted article at a port of entry, the importer shall notify the Plant Protection and
Quarantine Programs of the arrival by such means as a manifest,Customs entry document, commercial
invoice,waybill, a broker's document, or a notice form provided for that purpose (PPQ form 368) which is available
at the following website:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/library/forms/index.shtml#ppq.
15. A typed or legibly printed list/invoice must accompany each shipment, and must include the name of the
collector/shipper, the botanical names (genus and species) listed alphabetically, as well as the country of origin, and
country shipped from, for each taxon.
16. The permittee must instruct the supplier to label each container with the genus and species name of plants within.
For containers holding more than one species, each species must be labeled separately.
17. If an imported plant shipment under the Postentry Quarantine (PEQ) program is delivered to the permit holder or
to the approved PEQ site/facility prior to PPQ inspection unaccompanied by one postentry yellow tag (PPQ Form
547) and twist tie per plant genus, and unaccompanied with the PPQ Form 236 from the USDA Plant Inspection
Station, in either or both case(s), the permit holder is required to immediately:
a) Hold and properly safeguard the entire plant shipment, including any other non-postentry required plants in its
original package/container; and
b) Contact one of the following immediately for instructions in order to obtain proper clearance of the shipment: State
Department of Agriculture officials, the nearest USDA Plant Inspection Station, or the USDA APHIS PPQ postentry
liaison. Contact information can be found by accessing the Postentry Quarantine Manual on Appendix A,B & C
through the link provided below. Plant shipments will be sent either to a designated PIS or the nearest PIS at the
importer's expense. Failure to comply with this and any other USDA regulations and permit conditions as specified
may result in the revocation of the permit and civil penalties.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/online_manuals.shtml
18. Permit holder shall ensure that this permit is valid while each imported plant shipment is in postentry quarantine
until its final release and PPQ form 569 is issued by the PEQ National Coordinator.
19. The shipment must be free from soil, other foreign matter or debris, prohibited plants, noxious weed seeds, and
living organisms such as parasitic plants, pathogens, insects, snails, and mites. Material found to be commingled with
prohibited or infested material will be subject to the same action (i.e. re-export, destruction, etc...) as the prohibited or
infested material.
20. Plants for planting which have been wrapped, coated, dipped, or sprayed, or otherwise packaged in plastic, or
other impermeable material that may prevent adequate inspection or treatment may be refused entry.
21. All wood packing material (WPM) present with this shipment must meet the requirements of the importing and
destination country and is subject to ISPM 15 treatment and IPPC stamp requirements and enforcement as stated in
7CFR 319.40-3(b).
22. USDA, APHIS, PPQ and CBP-AS have the option, based on its inspection findings, to order treatment,
re-exportation or destruction of a shipment, or a portion of a shipment.
23. When shipments are to be imported by mail, the permittee should request a green and yellow mailing label for
each parcel. Instructions for its use appear on the reverse side of the label. If you are importing plants and seeds by
mail (including express carrier parcel shipments), please instruct your supplier to attach to your parcel(s) the green
and yellow labels provided with your permit. It is especially important that the permittee's name, address, telephone
number, and permit number be enclosed with each parcel. Instruct your supplier to place only green and yellow
labels, and NOT your name or address, on the outside of the parcel. Green and yellow labels should be used only for
mail importation.
24. Shipments must be imported and presented for inspection at a USDA Plant Inspection Station (PIS) at a
designated port listed on the permit or the green and yellow label, if applicable or required. If a shipment arrives at a
port without a plant inspection station, any subsequent movement to a plant inspection station, or any transfer and /or
transloading, must be approved by the USDA and/or CBP-AS.
25. All costs and arrangements are the responsibility of the importer.
26. Plants originating from countries known to have Anoplophora chinensis or Anoplophora glabripennis within the
country shall meet the following requirements as required by the Federal Order Issued January 16, 2009:
1. The National Plant Protection Organization shall verify and validate that the place of
production for the plants exported to the USA is free of citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis, CLB) and
Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis, ALB).
2.The Phytosanitary Certificate shall record that the place of production is free of
citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis,CLB) and Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis