Plants, parts of plants, plant products and flowers

Even when you bring in orchids for your private use, you’ll need a CITES export permit or a re-export certificate from the country of export as well as an import permit issued by the Finnish Environment Institute for some species of orchids. Until 14 December 2019 you can bring in up to 20 cut orchids without a phytosanitary certificate.

You’ll find more information and instructions on the websites of Finnish Food Authority and Finnish Environment Institute.

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A phytosanitary certificate is required for cones brought in from outside the EU, if they are brought in for propagation. Travellers do not necessarily know whether the cone that they have brought in contains seeds or not, and therefore the Finnish Food Authority and Customs recommend that cones not be brought in from outside the EU.

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The new plant health legislation restricts travellers from bringing in plants and plant products from outside the European Union without a phytosanitary certificate. The new legislation will take effect on 14 December.

A phytosanitary certificate is required for:

• seedlings, potted plants, greenery,
• scions, stems, tubers, rhizomes and similar propagated materials,
• seeds for planting,
• cut flowers and branches as well as
• fresh fruits, berries, vegetables and root vegetables.

Of fruits, only bananas, dates durians, pineapples and coconuts are exempted from the certificate requirement.

You will still need to check for possible import bans in the Finnish Food Authority’s Guide to Import Bans (in Finnish).

A phytosanitary certificate is not required for mushrooms, and it is therefore still permitted after 1 September 2019 to bring in a maximum of 10 kilogrammes for personal use without testing and radiation controls.

Further information can be found on the Finnish Food Authority’s webpage (in Finnish and Swedish).

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