Under the new rule, plants imported from the Republic of Korea must be inspected in the greenhouse and found free of plant pests and diseases no more than 30 days before they are exported to the United States. Each shipment must also be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate verifying these conditions have been met.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending its regulations to allow the importation of Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium orchid plants in growing media from the Republic of Korea.
“After analyzing the potential plant pest risks, APHIS scientists determined these Korean orchids can safely be imported into the United States under a comprehensive systems approach,” explained Shawn McBurney, the Society of American Florists’ senior director of government relations.
“The systems approach is a series of overlapping measures taken by growers, packers, and shippers that, in combination, minimize pest risks prior to importation into the United States,” he explained. “In this case, the systems approach requires the use of specific types of growing media, a written agreement between APHIS and the national plant protection organization of the Republic of Korea (NPPO), and NPPO and the grower providing detailed information about growing conditions and sources of the seeds or parent plants used to produce the orchids.”
In addition, the plants must be inspected in the greenhouse and found free of plant pests and diseases no more than 30 days before they are exported to the United States. Each shipment must also be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate verifying these conditions have been met.
In August 2016, APHIS published a proposed rule to amend its regulations to allow the importation of orchid plants of the genera Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium in growing media from the Republic of Korea into the United States provided that the plants are produced in accordance with a systems approach.
The final rule was published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2017, and will become effective 30 days after publication, or on October 16, 2017.
