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Phytosanitary certificate: what produce importers must check

What a phytosanitary certificate certifies, who issues it, how ePhyto changes the paperwork, and the errors that hold fruit at the EU or UK border.

7 min read

By Edouard Brière · Published

A phytosanitary certificate is the official document in which the exporting country’s plant protection organisation states that a consignment of plants or plant products was inspected and meets the plant health rules of the country it is going to. For fresh fruit and vegetables it is the one document that cannot be put right once the container has sailed, because what it certifies is an inspection of that fruit before loading.

Most importers never read one closely until a border inspector does. This guide covers what to check while the fruit is still at sea.

What a phytosanitary certificate is

The certificate comes from the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and its format is set by an international standard, ISPM 12. Every signatory uses the same model, so a certificate from Peru and one from Chile carry the same boxes in the same order.

It certifies that the consignment was inspected or tested by the right procedures, is considered free from the pests the importing country regulates, and conforms to that country’s current plant health requirements. It says nothing about quality. A container of grapes can carry a perfect phyto and still arrive soft or mouldy. Where fruit enters one country and is sent on to another, that second country may need a re-export certificate, issued by the country the fruit passed through.

Who issues it

Only the national plant protection organisation (NPPO) of the exporting country, or officials it authorises: SENASA in Peru, SAG in Chile. The certificate is valid only once that organisation has dated, signed and stamped it, or completed it electronically. Your exporter cannot write one, and neither can a private inspection company. Only the NPPO that issued a certificate can alter or replace it.

What is on the certificate

The ISPM 12 model has the same fields everywhere. These are the ones that cause trouble at the border.

Consignee and exporter have to match the rest of the paperwork. Distinguishing marks hold container, seal or pallet numbers. Place of origin is the country, and for some pests the region or production site. Declared point of entry is the port the certificate expects. Name of produce, quantity and botanical name describe what is in the box. The treatment section records any disinfestation, such as cold treatment in transit.

The additional declaration is the field importers look at least and inspectors check hardest. It is where the NPPO writes the specific statement the importing country demands for that commodity, often in fixed wording, naming a specific pest and method. A generic declaration where the destination requires a specific one fails, however clean the fruit.

ePhyto: the certificate without the paper

An ePhyto is the electronic equivalent of a phytosanitary certificate, a standard XML message holding everything the paper version holds. The IPPC runs a hub that passes it directly from the exporting NPPO to the importing one, and countries without their own system can use the IPPC’s web-based one, GeNS. Nothing travels in a courier bag, and the importing authority has the certificate before the vessel berths.

In the EU, the TRACES NT system is the single connection to the hub, and an ePhyto received there can be copied (“cloned”) into the import notification. The Dutch authority states plainly that an ePhyto is sufficient and no paper is needed. In Great Britain, an ePhyto cloned into the IPAFFS import notification acts as the original.

Paper still matters where the exporting country does not send ePhytos. For high-risk and medium-risk goods entering Great Britain on paper, the original must be posted to APHA (England and Wales) or SASA (Scotland) within three days of arrival. Ask your exporter which route each consignment is on.

What goes wrong at the border

ISPM 12 lists what makes a certificate invalid, and importing authorities use the same list to reject one. For fresh produce the realistic failures are:

  • Incomplete or incorrect information, most often a missing or wrongly worded additional declaration.
  • Conflicting information, such as a quantity or container number that disagrees with the packing list or the bill of lading.
  • Alterations not stamped, dated and countersigned by the NPPO.
  • An expired period of validity, set by the exporting NPPO or the importing country.
  • A non-certified copy where the original was needed, or an illegible certificate.

The issuing NPPO can replace a certificate under a new number that refers to the one it cancels. Whether the importing authority accepts a replacement for fruit already at its border is its decision, not your right, and the days it takes come out of shelf life and your free time.

A valid certificate is also not a guarantee of release. If inspectors find a regulated pest, EU rules let the authority order the consignment destroyed, sent back out of the EU or given special treatment. British guidance says the goods may be destroyed or returned.

Per-destination notes

European Union. Plants and plant products need a phytosanitary certificate unless they are on a short list of exceptions. For fresh fruit it has five entries: pineapples, coconuts, durians, bananas and the fruit of the date palm. A consignment that needs a certificate also needs a CHED-PP, the plant health entry document, lodged in TRACES NT with the border control post at least one working day before the expected arrival.

Great Britain. Goods are graded high risk, medium risk A, medium risk B or low risk. For the first three, each consignment needs a certificate and an IPAFFS notification at least one working day before arrival by sea, and high-risk and medium-risk A goods must enter through a port with a border control post for plants. Check your commodity’s category on the government’s plant health portal; it is set per commodity and origin.

Elsewhere, check the requirements for your commodity and origin each season: additional declarations can change when a new pest is found at origin.

How to check a phyto before the vessel arrives

The cheapest time to find an error is while the NPPO at origin can still fix it. Ask for a scan or the ePhyto reference on the day of loading, then check:

  1. The consignee, exporter and point of entry match the booking and the commercial invoice.
  2. The container and seal numbers in the distinguishing marks match the bill of lading.
  3. The quantity and botanical name match the packing list.
  4. The place of origin is stated at the level the destination requires, whether that is the country, the region or the production site.
  5. The additional declaration uses the wording the importing country specifies for this commodity and origin.
  6. Any required treatment, such as cold treatment, is recorded.
  7. It is signed and stamped, with no uncountersigned corrections.
  8. You know whether it is travelling as an ePhyto or on paper, and the import notification has been lodged.

Watch point 2 after any change of plan: if a container was rolled or swapped at origin, the phyto may still carry the old number.

Where tracking fits

The border check sits between discharge and release, which is exactly where demurrage is counted, and the pre-notification deadline moves with the arrival, so an ETA that moves two days earlier moves it too. Checked before arrival, a phyto problem is a phone call to the exporter rather than a destruction order. Trackberry reads phytosanitary certificates from the emails they arrive in and puts them next to the container they cover, so the comparison with the bill of lading is a glance rather than a search.

Trackberry reads the phyto off the email it arrives in and shows it next to the container it covers, before the vessel berths. See how it works for produce importers, or book a 20-minute chat.

FAQ

What is a phytosanitary certificate?

An official certificate from the exporting country’s national plant protection organisation stating that a consignment of plants or plant products was inspected, is free from the pests the importing country regulates, and meets its plant health requirements. It follows the IPPC model in ISPM 12 and is issued before export.

Is an ePhyto accepted instead of the paper certificate?

Where the importing country accepts electronic certificates, yes. The EU receives them through TRACES NT, and in Great Britain an ePhyto cloned into IPAFFS acts as the original. It only works if the exporting country’s NPPO actually sends one, so ask for each consignment.

Can a phytosanitary certificate be corrected after the fruit has shipped?

Only the NPPO that issued it can alter or replace it, and a replacement carries a new number. Whether the importing authority accepts it for a consignment already at its border is its decision, so treat it as a concession that costs days.

What happens if the phytosanitary certificate is wrong?

The consignment is held while the authority decides, then may be destroyed, sent back or, in the EU, given special treatment. Demurrage keeps running meanwhile, so agree with your exporter before the season who pays when the certificate is at fault.

Sources

Tags: documents compliance plant-health

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