Import Requirements for Bamboo Poles and Stakes
3 October 2000
Import Requirements for Bamboo Poles and Stakes
The following information comes from Mr. Greg Stubbings, National Manager, Forestry Section of the CFIA.
In the past two years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have intercepted numerous live quarantine pests at various locations on bamboo poles and stakes imported from China, eg Purpuricenus sp., Chlorophorus annularis, Phymatodes sp. Hosts of these insects include bamboo, grape, apple, maple and pear. As a lot of the bamboo stakes are imported for outdoor use in nurseries, there is considerable risk that these insects may escape and establish in the nearby host trees.
According to Plant Health and Production Division policy directive D-95-14, all untreated woods are prohibited entry into Canada from off-shore. To facilitate international trade and maintain consistency with our current policies on forest products and wood packing materials, the following import requirements apply to bamboo poles and stakes:
Bamboo poles and stakes of all sizes must be imported with a Permit to Import and a Phytosanitary Certificate, or a fumigation certificate endorsed by the Plant Health authority for the country of origin, attesting that the materials have been fumigated with methyl bromide at the rate of 80 grams per cubic metre (5 pounds per 1000 cubic feet) for 16 hours at 4.5 to 20.5 Celsius degrees (40 to 69 Fahrenheit degrees) or 48 grams per cubic meter (3 pounds per 1000 cubic feet) for 16 hours at 21 Celsius degrees (70 Farhenheit degrees) or above. Alternatively, the poles may be imported with Permit to Import and a Phytosanitary Certificate attesting to the poles being kiln dried and having attained a minimum core temperature of 52 degrees Celsius and achieved a moisture content of less than 20 per cent.
Please ensure that your members and their clients are aware of these import requirements and apply for a Permit to Import with CFIA if they don't already have one. Copies of the application for a Permit to Import form can be obtained from the CFIA web site at http://www.cfia- acia.agr.ca/english/plaveg/protect/pqir/aceisint.html, or from the CFIA permit office at:
Permit Office
Plant Health and Production Division
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Second Floor West
59 Camelot Drive
Nepean, ON K1A 0Y9
telephone: 613-225-2342
fax: 613-228-6605