What is Country freedom status?
Exporters of plants or plant products often need to provide phytosanitary certificates to the destination country. These are issued by MPI and confirm that plant health has been checked.
Phytosanitary certificates sometimes need to include an 'additional declaration' to confirm the products are free from particular organisms. The Country freedom status database contains a list of the organisms that have had their presence or absence from New Zealand checked by MPI for an additional declaration. It is not a list of all organisms that are present or absent from New Zealand.
Using the search tool
If your destination market requires an additional declaration for a particular organism you can check its status by searching the database.
To search for a pest or disease organism
- Enter the correct scientific name of the organism in the search box below (be sure to check the spelling).
- Click 'Search'. Results will show the organism name, type and whether it is known to be in New Zealand.
- To get a complete list of all the organisms, leave the search field empty and click 'Search'.
Using the results for an additional declaration
- If the results show that the organism is 'not known to occur in New Zealand' you don't need any further survey, inspection or testing for the additional declaration.
- If the results show that the organism is 'known to occur in New Zealand' a survey, inspection or test must be carried out for the additional declaration. Contact your independent verification agency (IVA) for advice.
- If the organism doesn't appear in a search, this is not proof that the organism is absent. You can ask MPI to confirm the pest’s status in New Zealand. MPI provides this service on a cost-recovery basis. For further information, contact Plant Exports by e-mailing: [email protected].
Source: MPI
Classifieds
