Because the pinewood nematode resides in coniferous (soft) woods, and coniferous (soft) woods are used to construct pallets and crates for shipments, the following may apply to the exporter/shipper shipping to points outside the United States.

If a shipment is encased or palletized for shipment to one of the following nations, or will clear in the following nation for an onward destination, and the packaging is constructed from coniferous (soft) wood make note that the following may apply:

EUROPEAN UNION (EU) - effective October 1, 2001
see Web site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/eunmwp.html
To prevent the introduction of unwanted bugs, the EU requires one of several treatments and markings for all new and used coniferous (e.g. pine, spruce, fir) non-manufactured wood packing material used in shipments originating in the US, etc. This applies to all shipments entering or clearing in an EU nation. EU nations are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

One of the treatments requires coniferous lumber to be heat-treated (HT) and stamped with the designated NO-BUG stamp of the company constructing the packaging used. This lumber is heat-treated (HT) to a standard of 56° Celsius for at least 30 minutes by the mills producing such lumber and so marked. For more details see the above Web site.

AUSTRALIA - effective April 1, 2001
see Web site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/swaus.html
Shipment of LCL (Less than a Container Load), using untreated timber packaging, will be subject to special handling in Australia. This can cause delay and possible additional costs for the shipments. To prevent such delay and/or costs the pallets should be made of heat-treated (HT) lumber (heat-treated to a standard of 56° Celsius for at least 30 minutes). The pallets are constructed from specific lumber and stamped accordingly to reflect NO-BUG. This is to eliminate the infestation of unwanted bugs. See the above Web site for more details. FCL (Full Container Load) information is also on the site.

ARGENTINA - effective April 1, 2002
see Web site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/SWPArgentina.html
Wood used in the packing, support and accommodation of all types of goods into Argentina must comply with the following specifications:
    1 - Wood packing should be fee of bark, insects and signs of damage produced by     insects.
    2 - A sworn exporter declaration attesting to the above conditions must be attached to     Customs Import Clearance documents. Declarations must be made for "ALL" wood     pacKing materials, both solid and manufactured wood.
The purpose of this new process is to prevent the introduction and/or dispersion of pests that attack wood used in packing, support and accommodation of goods imported. See the above Web sit for more details.

You may already be aware of the following regulations . . .

BRAZIL - effective April 14, 2000
see Web site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/SWPBrazil.html
The United States was removed from the list of countries required to comply with Brazil's regulations for imported solid wood packing material and its fumigation. This was to prevent the introduction of the Asian Longhorned Beetle, a pest native to East Asia, to Brazil. For up-to-date information regarding these types of shipments to Brazil see the above Web site.

CHINA - effective January 1, 2000
see Web site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ca/chinawsp/hotbutton.html
The wood used must be certified that it was heat-treated (HT) to the standard of 56° Celsius for at least 30 minutes. The maker of the pallet/container provides the shipper with a certification that HT lumber was used. The shipper in turn must complete certain documents to that affect. Check out the Web site for APHIS mentioned above. A copy of documentation is contained therein along with other pertinent information.

WORLDWIDE -
The IPPC, International Plant Protection Convention, a United Nations treaty governing 118 participating nations passed the regulations that requires all raw wood contained in wood packaging to be treated before being shipped. Several methods of treatment are currently available. Essentially the methods now in effect for the European Union nations are the approved procedures.
There is not current timeline for implementation. However, the European Union and Canada are expected to officially implement the IIPC standard before the end of 2002 if the stamp can be agreed on by the nations.

Ideal Pallet System to the rescue.
We can provide you with NO-BUG stamped pallets or crates. We can also provide you with certifications for shipments to China. Even though there are several methods of treatment for EU shipments, "APHIS recommends the use of the heat-treatment (HT) option since that is the only "long term measure" . . ."

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