Effective September 1, 2009, a valid International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) stamp will be the only accepted treatment certification method for wood packaging. Phytosanitary Certificates from China for wood packaging material will no longer be accepted due to a high level of non-compliance.

Beginning June 1, 2009, importers will be granted a three-month grace period whereby wood packaging material accompanied by a Chinese Phytosanitary Certificate in lieu of an IPPC mark will be allowed to enter Canada, subject to a verification of the certificate's authenticity by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Starting September 1, 2009, the new policy change will be fully enforced, which means The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will refuse the entry of any shipments containing wood packaging material certified with a Chinese Phytosanitary Certificate.

The CFIA has advised China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the phased-in approach that will be used to implement this policy change. We would recommend that you notify all of your suppliers in China of this change to avoid any potential delays/costs due to freight being refused entry to Canada.

This information has been published by the CBSA via Customs Notice 09-002 of March 4, 2009 and can be viewed at http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn09-002-eng.pdf