Plants and products containing vegetable substances
Plant diseases and pests can be introduced from outside the EU in living plants, plant products or other items which are carrying certain pathogens, or even in soil adhering to them.
Intra-EU consignments of particularly harmful organisms, and also of plants, plant products, and other items that are, or could be, affected by such organisms come within the scope of phytosanitary legislation. Certain plants, plant products, and other items may, in principle, only be imported if special requirements (such as a certificate, import inspection) have been completed.
The Customs administration monitors intra-Community consignments crossing Germany.
Clearance for the import and export from or to a non-EU country can only be obtained at designated customs offices (points of entry). The Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture publishes information about the German points of entry; they are identified by the note
"Abfertigungen nach § 62 Pflanzenschutzgesetz von Schadorganismen, Pflanzen, Pflanzenerzeugnissen oder sonstigen Gegenständen, die Träger bestimmter Schadorganismen sind oder sein könnten, zur Einfuhr aus Staaten, die nicht Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union sind"
in the national list of customs services.
You can find information about phytosanitary protection on the web sites of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Bundesministeriums für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft) and of the Julius Kühn Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (Julius-Kühn-Institut - Bundesforschungsanstalt für Kulturpflanzen).
