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BETA Your feedback will help us improve the UK Plant Health Information Portal

Export of high risk plants to the EU

Last Updated: 5 November 2024

The EU has a list of high-risk plants (HRPs) in Annex I of Regulation 2018/2019 which are prohibited from export to the EU pending a risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Due to Northern Ireland remaining part of the EU’s Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) zone, it also implements Regulation 2018/2019.

Since the 1st January 2021 these prohibitions have applied to Great Britain, which means the relevant list of HRPs cannot be exported to the EU or moved to Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the UK was not able to submit dossiers until after this date.

In order to overturn a prohibition it is necessary for a country to submit a detailed technical dossier; a summary of the information which needs to be included in the dossier is available in this EFSA report. In order to complete a dossier information must be provided both by UK Plant Health Service and the trade, and dossiers cannot be submitted without trade input.

UK Plant Health Service is working closely with the Plant Health Advisory Forum (PHAF) of relevant horticultural and forestry trade bodies to ensure that dossiers are prioritised according to the needs of stakeholders and to ensure that the relevant trade information is provided. 

Once completed, a dossier is submitted to the European Commission, who in turn ask EFSA to prepare a risk assessment for the specific products covered by the dossier. UK Plant Health Service has no control over the time taken by the European Commission to review a dossier and the resulting assessment, but it is likely to take more than a year. The outcome of the process is uncertain, and the European Commission will use the EFSA assessment to decide whether the relevant prohibition should continue or whether specific import conditions should be introduced for the trade concerned.

A diagram outlining the process for HRP dossiers, from information being collated, to the market being opened, is below. The steps in blue are performed by the European Commission and EFSA. UK Plant Health Service has no control over the timeline of these steps.

 

 HRP Process Map2

 

 Table 1:  Dossiers submitted to the European Commission.  This will be updated on a rolling basis.

Dossier                                         

Date Submitted

Request for additional information received from EFSA

Additional information supplied to EFSA

Commodity assessment published by EFSA

Commodity approved for export to the EU, subject to phytosanitary conditions being met

(click on the date for legislation link)

Malus domestica

17/9/21

15/07/22

02/02/23

14/03/23

30/09/22

06/02/23

05/04/23

12/05/23

21/06/23

Ligustrum japonicum/L. delavayanum

03/12/21

06/04/22

06/05/22

11/11/22

27/02/23

Malus sylvestris

04/03/22

17/01/23

31/01/23

19/06/23

21/07/23

   

04/05/23

02/06/23

   

Crataegus monogyna

03/05/22

23/12/22

19/01/23

06/02/23

21/12/22

31/01/23

09/02/23

24/04/23

16/06/23

Acer platanoides

03/05/22

03/11/22

31/01/23

06/07/23

27/07/23

Acer palmatum

03/05/22

03/11/22

31/01/23

06/07/23

27/07/23

Acer pseudoplatanus

03/05/22

03/11/22

11/04/23

31/01/23

15/05/23

06/07/23

27/07/23

Acer campestre

03/05/22

03/11/22

11/04/23

31/01/23

15/05/23

06/07/23

27/07/23

Quercus robur

16/06/22

05/01/23

25/04/23

31/01/23

16/05/23

30/10/23

11/12/23

Quercus petraea

16/06/22

05/01/23

25/04/23

31/01/23

16/05/23

30/10/23

11/12/23 

Fagus sylvatica

16/06/22

01/12/22 

25/04/23

31/01/23

16/05/23

28/07/23

3/11/23

Sorbus aucuparia

31/03/23

   

21/06/24

 

Cornus alba

31/03/23

   

12/03/24

 

Cornus sanguinea

31/03/23

   

12/03/24

 

Corylus avellana

31/03/23

 06/07/23

 01/09/23

12/01/24

21/03/24

Ligustrum ovalifolium

31/03/23

 30/08/23

 02/10/23

07/03/24

29/05/24

Ligustrum vulgare

31/03/23

30/08/23

02/10/23

07/03/24

29/05/24

Prunus avium

31/03/23

08/11/23

06/02/24

09/12/23

12/02/24

03/07/24

 

Betula pendula

27/04/23

01/02/24

11/04/24

18/03/24

26/04/24

04/11/24

 

Betula pubescens

27/04/23

01/02/24

11/04/24

18/03/24

26/04/24

04/11/24

 

Tilia cordata

09/06/23

19/12/23

14/02/24 

03/05/24

17/07/24

Tilia platyphyllos

09/06/23

19/12/23

14/02/24 

03/05/24

17/07/24

Prunus spinosa

09/06/23

 06/02/24

12/02/24

24/07/24

 

Alnus cordata

19/06/23

       

Alnus glutinosa

19/06/23

       

Alnus incana

19/06/23

       

Populus alba

07/08/23

17/10/24 

     

Populus tremula

07/08/23

17/10/24 

     

Populus nigra

07/08/23

17/10/24 

     

Salix caprea

07/08/23

       

Salix cineria

07/08/23

       

Taxus baccata

07/08/23

18/07/24

30/08/24

   

Lonicera ligustrina var pileata (L. pileata)

20/10/23

       

Lonicera ligustrina var yunnanensis (L. nitida)

20/10/23

       

Lonicera periclymenum

20/10/23

       

Berberis thunbergii

20/10/23

       

Castanea sativa

24/11/23

       

Prunus incisa

28/02/24

13/06/24

21/06/24

   

Prunus domestica

28/02/24

13/06/24

21/06/24

   

Prunus cerasifera

28/02/24

13/06/24

21/06/24

   

Prunus armeniaca

28/02/24

13/06/24

21/06/24

   

Prunus persica

28/02/24

13/06/24

21/06/24

   

Table 2: trade have expressed interest in exporting these genera to the EU, dossiers not yet submitted. We are prioritising genera based off information provided to us by members of the PHAF.

HRP name

Pest list (Defra)                

Trade information

Ulmus minor, Hamamelis, Robinia, Jasminum, Fraxinus

In progress

Pending

Acacia, Albizia, Ficus carica

Not started

Pending

Table 3: trade have not expressed interest in exporting these genera to the EU.

Annona, Bauhinia, Caesalpinia, Cassia, Diospyros, Nerium, Persea, plants of Ullucus tuberosus, wood of Ulmus, fruits of Momordica.

Not started

Not required