Deregulation of Soybean Cyst Nematode and New Declarations on Soil-borne Plant Pests Required for Import of Plants for Planting

Posted on December 6, 2013 By Flowers Canada Posted In Growers

As per the sanitary and phytosanitary measures notification issued September 27, 2013 (SPS-CAN-730-13), Canada intends to deregulate Heterodera glycines (soybean cyst nematode) and, as of November 25, 2013, will no longer be enforcing import requirements related to this pest. Consequently, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA’s) directive D-08-04 has been updated to remove the requirements related to H. glycines for plants and plant parts intended for planting imported into Canada. An advance copy of the updated directive is attached for your information; the updated directive will be posted to the CFIA’s website on November 25, 2013.

As part of this revision, the existing requirements related to soil, soil-borne plant pests and packing material in directive D-08-04 have been clarified. The additional declarations related to soil-borne plant pests required for plants and plant parts from areas other than the continental United States have been consolidated into a single additional declaration referencing D-08-04. For the continental United States, the additional declaration related to H. glycines is no longer necessary; the requirements related to other soil-borne plant pests have not changed.

It is understood that it may take some time for National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) to update their systems with these requirements and begin using the new additional declarations on Phytosanitary Certificates for material destined to Canada. Until December 31, 2014, either the old or the new additional declarations for soil-borne plant pests will be accepted on Phytosanitary Certificates.

It will take some time for the CFIA to amend all existing Permits to Import to show the new additional declaration; it is expected that this task will be completed by December 31, 2014. Until then, NPPOs may be presented with Canadian Permits to Import showing either the old or the new additional declarations for soil-borne plant pests; Permits to Import are valid even if they show the old additional declaration. Rest assured that CFIA staff have been instructed to ignore discrepancies related to H. glycines or the revised soil-borne pest additional declarations on import documents accompanying material imported into Canada until December 31, 2014.

Please see the CFIA’s web page on soybean cyst nematode (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plant-protection/nematodes-other/soybean-cyst-nematode/eng/1326425480858/1326425556395) for more information.

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