New Zealand
December 23, 2015

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has issued an amendment to the import health standard (IHS) 155.02.05 Seeds for Sowing under section 24A of the Biosecurity Act (1993). The IHS, dated 21 December 2015, replaces the earlier version of the standard dated 26 November 2015. The revised IHS can be downloaded here:

IHS Seeds for Sowing

The following changes have been incorporated in this amendment to the IHS:

• A minor amendment to the Hordeum schedule A CTO Decision Document was issued and the virus Barley mosaic virus has been removed from the Hordeum pest list. This virus is not recognized internationally and no further records have been found since it was first reported in 1969. It is likely that the virus described was a common virus of barley that was misidentified. No records have been found showing that Barley mosaic virus occurs in the natural environment.
• Re-instating section “Seed for Sowing imported as a laboratory specimens” This section was missing from the previous version of the IHS. It is now re-instated as section 1.9 in Part 1 – General Requirements.
• Two minor amendments to the Zea mays and Beta schedules Two minor amendments have been made to the IHS under the Zea and Beta schedules to correct some typographical errors.

Questions related to this amendment should be directed to:

Plant Germplasm (Imports) team
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
plantimports@mpi.govt.nz

Additional information about importing seeds for sowing can be found on the MPI website:

Importing seeds for sowing

Website: http://www.maf.govt.nz

Published: December 23, 2015