I was just wondering what the various countries laws would be about bringing foreign seeds into a country. I know that here in South Africa , they are embarking on a program to eliminate all foreign invader plants and trees, no matter how pretty they are. Trees such as Jacaranda's , Pine trees , wattle etc are all being removed and indiginous trees planted in their place. I know the Canadian trees do quite well in South Africa as my father( deceased) sent seeds to his brother who planted them and they grew into fine trees . Although if I recall correctly , the had short growth spurts and then slowed down . regards Mike
most countries have restrictions on importing plants w/soil included. seeds, generally are acceptable to import as long as they are free of soil. generally, that is. some countries are VERY restrictive and won't allow anything in and other countries have restrictions which can be waived for the time it takes to obtain a permit. you can find the info on the country-in-question's website - may take a bit to track the info down - usually whatever department handles importing issues would have the info and possibly whatever department handles agriculture issues would as well. you may also be able to find the info on the website for the postal service of that country as well. our postal service has links to what the usa restricts being imported/exported as well as links to what other countries restrict (in as well as out). well, was going to post some links for you, since what info they had was pretty extensive and also provided info on what agency to contact in the other various countries. they've changed the site around now and it seems harder to find, if it's still there at all - probably is, i just don't have time to research it right now. so, here's the link to the the usps website - there used to be a listing of countries and you could click on any one and get the list of prohibited plants and seeds - for both exporting out of the country as well as for importing into. there is still a listing of countries - the info on the hotlink is different than it was previously. there are some prohibited items listed - which may or may not be a complete listing. the site is a little funky - you sometimes have to mouse-over the list on the left for a pop-up menu of more choices to open up. makes browsing the info a bit clunky. there are some things that you need to get a permit for in the us - plants on the CITES lists, for example. some need an import permit and some don't and that info can be found at the usda website. permits are usually needed only for plants - seeds generally don't need them unless they are endangered and/or from certain parts of the world. and, i believe most of the countries in africa (yours, too) must have a permit attached even when it's a bulb that is being shipped - even when the bulb is in dormancy. hope some of this is helpful!!
You were right. There is tons of information and it will take me a while to research all various countries. Thanks a ton for the info regards Mike
