Author Topic: To people from tropical countries: how difficult is live tree export?  (Read 1075 times)

KarenRei

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For those of you who live in a tropical country with interesting fruiting trees that are uncommon globally (e.g. we're not talking about mangoes and the like!  ;) ) and take a long time to reach maturity:

1) If someone wanted wanted to buy such an "exotic" (but non-endangered, not locally-rare) tree of a reasonable size (e.g. no more than a few years away from fruiting size, ~2-6 meters tall) to export from your country - do you think that would be possible to find a seller who could get a phyto / export approval for it?

2) What if the tree had to be dug up (e.g. one doesn't expect to find most "exotic indigenous trees of nearly fruiting size" in pots) - would this impose any barriers?

3) With reasonable effort, do you think it would be possible to find someone in the area (or who would be willing to go to the area) who knows what they're doing re: digging up, rootball-wrapping, and transporting a tree?  E.g. in the US or Europe you'd hire a professional tree mover who would show up with a spade truck (who will charge several hundred dollars plus transport costs). But even doing the whole process by hand is fine so long as the people doing so know what they're doing.

Total budget per tree (not just paying the owners, but also the movers, and for export costs, incl. shipping) would not be unlimited, but would be significant (thousands of dollars per tree, depending on tree size; for particularly large/spectacular trees, potentially up to $15k or so, maybe even more in exceptional cases), and if one tree was being sourced from a particular area, we'd probably try to source others as well (to combine shipping). Our government does not mandate bare-rooting, although non-bare-root trees have to have the phyto also certify the soil (and if it's a country that has the New Zealand flatworm, they either have to be bare-root or specifically note on the phyto that the flatworm is not found where the plant was acquired. I don't think it's found in any tropical countries.).

This is nothing at all urgent - just a longer-term consideration.  :)

(Also, if you're not from a tropical country with interesting native trees, but know a bit about this topic, feel free to weigh in as well!)
« Last Edit: January 22, 2019, 07:42:16 AM by KarenRei »
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noochka1

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Re: To people from tropical countries: how difficult is live tree export?
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2019, 09:24:24 AM »
Hi,

Just a thought, but many "exotic" trees of 2-6 meter size should be available in pots from specialist nurseries in Florida, California and Hawaii.  There will undoubtedly be some that aren't, but developing a network of nurseries in these areas that you can contact to source these plants will certainly drive down your project cost.  Furthermore, shipping multiple plants via FCL rather than by air or LCL ocean freight will save even more - assuming that multiple plants of interest are available in a single location, or in relatively close proximity. 

As for export, my admittedly limited experience is that it is far more difficult to import plant material than it is to export it.  What do your Customs and Phytosanitary regulations look like in regard to live plant importations? 

Best regards,
Scott     

KarenRei

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Re: To people from tropical countries: how difficult is live tree export?
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2019, 12:04:14 PM »
Nurseries in warm parts of the US and Europe are obviously the first go-to source.  :)  But I'm not talking about plants like, oh, say, abiu, black sapote, jaboticabas, etc.  I'm talking more things like... oh, say, Brosimum utile, bacuri, paradise nut, etc. The sort of things you're not going to find in a typical nursery, things that even many tropical plant nuts may never have seen or tasted.

Obviously first-stop shopping is at nurseries.  :)

I already described our phytosanitary requirements.  We need a phyto certificate, covering the plant, and - if not bare-root - the soil.  Extra restrictions where the New Zealand flatworm is present, but it shouldn't even be capable of surviving in the tropics. We can't import any conifers from outside the EU, and the specific genera (including non-conifers like birch) that we use in forestry here are outright prohibited from live import.  But as for tropicals, there's only minimal restrictions.  Remember, this is Iceland. Tropical pests are not going to survive here, and tropical plants are not going to be invasive.  You're not going to some day travel to Iceland and find the country overrun by, say, acai trees infested by palm aphids  ;)
« Last Edit: January 22, 2019, 12:14:49 PM by KarenRei »
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