Seeds / plants from the EU post 2020

[Goldcrest]

Just had an email from Plants of Distinction saying:

"New rules coming into place at the end of the year will mean that we are unable to continue offering the wide selection of Heirloom Tomatoes that many of you have enjoyed growing over the years. Familiar names such as Black from Tula, ....., Lemon Tree, and Russian Black are just a few of the varieties disappearing from the UK for good"

This seems to be to do with Brexit - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importin...1-january-2021 for more info.

I've interpreted this document as: if a company wants to import / export seeds & plants from the EU they will have to pay lots of money to get the necessary permits / paperwork, and the Government has not yet come up with a definitive list of products.

I'm not clear if private buyers can still purchase e.g. seeds from e.g. France via e.g. eBay, Amazon, etc.

Does anyone have more info, do we all have to stock up now ?

[Jungle Jane]

Is this just for plants & not seeds,any living material could contain pest/disease,I think seeds would be ok they’re not living I don’t know,I’ve only ever bought seeds the uk,I don’t know the facts,I think the EU are probably more concerned about what we send over there,protecting their land & we follow along with what they want. The EU have stricter regulations than us or they want stricter regulations but UK seed companies have fought against EU decisions years ago,they want UK gardeners to have access to any plant they want to grow & this is how our country will be now we can write our own rules. So the EU wouldn’t want us sending things they haven’t got control over I don’t know it’s just a thought?

[bikermike]

I would say it's a very politicised thought

"[seed companies] want UK gardeners to have access to any plant they want to grow" seems an unexpectedly benign view of companies
"this is how our country will be now we can write our own rules." And the result will be that the EU will not trade with us. Which doesn't really sound like we are going to be able to do what we want.
I suspect Domestic seeds will be dragged along by EU agriculture rules, as if we want to trade food with Europe we're going to have to follow them

[Goldcrest]

Nicos - trouble is, some things are out of stock at the moment.
For example, I buy from brownenvelope in Ireland as they're the only place I've found in the last 5 years that sell parsley peas (lovely BTW) but they haven't any as of today and there's a rare celosia cristata I could only find in France last year.
Jungle Jane - TBH I only read in detail the bits about incoming plants and seeds as that's what I was interested in. It says all plants and some seeds . There's a whole section on exporting to the EU if you want to follow the link above, but I assume the rules will be the same for the UK as those for e.g. Egypt or Bolivia unless they've got a special trade deal ...
Biker Mike - sorry - I didn't mean to start an argument!

I'd also like to know, if I go to e.g. Germany and buy a packet of carrot seeds in February, will I be fined and they be confiscated by Customs on the way back!

[Jungle Jane]

Biker mike as the UK won’t have to follow EU seed regulations we will have more choice to produce & grow whatever seeds we like,we can do what we want as a country regarding seed production & plants,grow what we want,that’s what I’m talking about & I don’t know what your talking about my view of companies this is what happened in real life.

[mothhawk]

We can grow what we like, but a large proportion of the seeds we buy in the UK are not produced here, particularly organic and heritage seeds. For each seed a company wants to import, a phytosanitary certificate is needed if it is on the Government's list. You can't get a blanket certificate for, say, tomatoes - each variety needs its own. That's a lot of money for seed companies to pay out for comparatively small return.

So stock up now, and start planning your seed saving for next year.

[mothhawk]

From the Gov website:-

Importing plants and plant products from the EU from 1 January 2021


High-priority plants and plant products from the EU must have:

• a phytosanitary certificate (PC)
• a pre-notification submitted by the importer in England, Scotland or Wales
• documentary and identity checks
• a physical inspection

You will have to pay for these services.

High-priority plants and plant products from the EU that will need a PC from 1 January 2021 include:

• all plants for planting
• ware potatoes
• some seed and timber
• used agricultural or forestry machinery

BTW ware potatoes are seed potatoes to you and me.

[ameno]

I'd also like to know, if I go to e.g. Germany and buy a packet of carrot seeds in February, will I be fined and they be confiscated by Customs on the way back!

You'll be fine. I looked into this for my trips to Japan before now, and you can bring up to 5 commercial packets of seeds undeclared into the UK from outside of the EU *(and therefore presumably these rules will apply to EU countries, too, come January).
I'm not certain whether different rules apply when buying online from foreign countries and having it posted to the UK, though. I only read up about what you can bring back yourself.

[Snoop Puss]

It used to be impossible for me to order seeds for import from the UK into Spain. When all that changed, it was such a relief! I've been more than half expecting us to go back to the old ways and have been identifying French suppliers I can use.

I notice that the govt guidance website refers to 'some seed' and that DEFRA will be producing a list this year (better get their skates on). So maybe most seeds will be OK. Otherwise Marshalls, Suttons, T&M et al will be in trouble.

If there's no trade deal, it will apparently be a serious problem for the animal feed sector in Ireland, which has been buying UK seeds and does not maintain its own. And people like me will no longer be able to order seeds from the UK. I have no idea what the British government will do for UK growers in the event of no-deal. Perhaps it would be pragmatic and continue the status quo in the UK, meaning seeds from the EU will continue to be imported, in the short term at least, to avoid food shortages for people and livestock. But either way, as Nicos says, if you can, buy your seeds soon. Better to be prepared if there's a shortage.

[KevinM67]

Biker mike as the UK won’t have to follow EU seed regulations we will have more choice to produce & grow whatever seeds we like,we can do what we want as a country regarding seed production & plants,grow what we want,that’s what I’m talking about & I don’t know what your talking about my view of companies this is what happened in real life.

Utter mince.

[KevinM67]

It's still utter mince though.

[burnie]

I think we'll close this and we can all wait and see what actually does happen, at the moment it's all still very much up in the air re Brexit and the final deal or no deal.