Organisms and Plant Material for Research to Saudi Arabia

Conditions:

Phytosanitary Import Permit required. Items such as plant pests, beneficial organisms and plant material infested with plant pests may only be imported for research purposes. Refer Phytosanitary Import Permits re application for Phytosanitary Import Permits

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Saudi Arabia General Requirements

General Information

For enquires about this standard email the Plant Exports Team:

plantexports@maf.govt.nz

To help Exports process your email please record in the subject line of your email descriptive keywords which are relevant to your enquiry i.e. ICPR enquiry-Country-specific details.

For urgent enquiries phone or fax the Plant Exports Team

Telephone: 0800 008 333 (selecting option 3, then option 4)
Fax: 64 4 894 0733

Scope

This standard specifies Saudi Arabia's phytosanitary requirements for the stated commodities and commodity classes only. If a commodity class is not listed under Commodity Class Requirements or Commodity Specific Requirements exporters should contact;

• Saudi Arabia directly to ascertain requirements refer Phytosanitary Import Permits

Or

• Biosecurity New Zealand (Exports). Please note, the determination of phytosanitary requirements is undertaken on a cost recovery basis

Users of this document are strongly advised to review all sections of the ICPR for the determination of a commodity’s phytosanitary requirements.

Phytosanitary Legislation

The following legislation regulates the importation of plants and plant materials into Saudi Arabia: Plant Quarantine Regulation (Decree No. 207, dated 26/1/1396 H, under revision)

Prohibitions

Plants or parts of plants of the following genera and species, and classes are prohibited entry to Saudi Arabia

Scientific Name	Common Name	Plant Part Prohibited
Arecaceae	Palm Family	All parts including decorative materials, from areas where Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis (date palm bayoud disease) and Palm lethal yellowing phytoplasma is known to occur. Refer Section 3.3
Cannabis indica	Marijuana	All
Catha edulis	Khat	All
Datura spp.	Angel's Trumpet	All
Euphorbia spp.	Spurge	All
Papaver spp.	Poppy	All
Plants or plant products intended for celebrating holidays other than those that are Islamic e.g. Christmas tree		All
Ricinus spp.		All
Sand		All
Soil (earth)		All

Phytosanitary Import Permits

Phytosanitary import permits state the phytosanitary requirements for importation

Phytosanitary import permits are required for the importation of the following commodity classes from New Zealand:

• nursery stock
• seeds (grain) and nuts for sowing
• seeds (grain) and nuts for consumption

Phytosanitary import permits are not required for the importation of the following commodity classes from New Zealand:

• fresh, dried or frozen fruit and vegetables
• fresh or dried cut flowers and foliage
• seeds (grain) and nuts for processing
• growing media and packaging material

Phytosanitary Import Permits may be requested from:

Rashed AL-KHEDHER
Director General- Animal and Plant Quarantine Department
Ministry of Agriculture and Water
King Abdulaziz Road
Riyadh 11195
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Telephone: 9661 401 6666 (ext. 2175)
Facsimile: 9661 401 1323

Phytosanitary Certificates

Phytosanitary certificates are required for the importation of all commodity classes from New Zealand. Refer Commodity Specific Requirements where applicable.

Quarantine Pests

The following organisms are prohibited from entering Saudi Arabia

Insects / Mites / Nematodes

Scientific Name	Common Name
Cryptorhynchus mangiferae	Mango Weevil
(syn. Sternochetus magiferae)
Daktulosphaira vitifoliae	Grape Phylloxera
(syn. Phylloxera vitifoliae)
Globodera rostochiensis	Golden Nematode
(syn. Heterodera rostochiensis)
Iridomyrmex humilis	Argentine Ant
Leptinotarsa decemlineata	Colorado Potato Beetle
Mayetiola destructor	Wheat Hessian Fly
(syn. Phytophaga destructor)
Pectinophora gossypiella	Pink Bollworm
Popillia japonica	Japanese Beetle
Quadraspidiotus perniciosus	San Jose Scale
(syn. Aspidiotus perniciosus)

Fungi

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. qlbedinis	Date Palm Bayoud Disease
Synchytrium endobioticum	Potato Wart

Bacteria

Palm lethal yellowing phytoplasma

Coconut Lethal Yellowing Pathogen

 

Maximum Pest Limit (MPLs)

For all commodities exported to Saudi Arabia requiring phytosanitary certificates, the MPL's are:  

Quarantine pests* specified by Saudi Arabia	0.5%
Soil	25g/600unit

*Quarantine pests for Saudi Arabia include organisms identified within:

• Quarantine pests of this standard
• Additional declarations
• Phytosanitary import permit

Ports of Entry

Commodity classes are not restricted to entry via specific ports unless indicated upon a Phytosanitary Import Permit.

Plants and plant products are subject to inspection at the first port of entry.

Inspection on Arrival

Consignments from New Zealand maybe subject to inspection for phytosanitary purposes by Saudi officials upon arrival. A percentage of consignments only are sampled and inspected. Sample size is dependent on commodity, pest association and country of origin.

Trans-shipping

Consignments transiting Saudi Arabia en-route to the final destination may not remain in Saudi Arabia more than one week without permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water.