Regarding the Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Organic Cultivation Medium to China
1. The types of organic cultivation media allowed to enter the country
(1) A single type of organic cultivation medium.
1. Tissue culture media, coir, coir, sawdust, wood shavings, wood chips, cork, peat (including peat), non-viable moss.
2. Organic cultivation media treated by steam, heat, chemical or a combination of methods: rice husk/bran, chaff, coffee husk, peanut husk, cottonseed husk, sugarcane residue, grape residue, cocoa pod, oil palm shell charcoal, tree bark and other organic cultivation media, excluding soil.
(2) Composed of two or more of the above-mentioned organic cultivation media, or mixed media containing inorganic cultivation media.
2. Applicable countries or regions
All countries and regions.
3. Enterprise registration requirements
Cultivation media should be produced and stored in conditions that prevent contamination or infestation. Enterprises that produce, process and store cultivated media must be registered with the plant quarantine authority of the country or region where they are located, and recommended to GACC. The recommended information shall include the name of the enterprise and the registration number, address, product type, main ingredients, production process and treatment technical indicators, epidemic prevention and management measures, etc. (Chinese or English). The GACC will be audited, and after the audit is passed, it will be registered and published on the website, and the registration will be valid for 5 years. 3 months before the expiration of the validity period, the plant quarantine authority of the country or region where it is located will re-recommend it to the GACC, and the validity period will be extended for 5 years after the GACC is approved.
4. Product requirements
(1) The pests in the "List of Imported Plant Quarantine Pests in China" are not included, including Atropellis pinicola, Atropellis piniphila, Botryosphaeria stevensii, ephalosporium sacchari, Ceratocystis fagacearum, Fusarium circinatum, and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. elaeidis、Microcyclus ulei、Ophiostoma ulmi、Phellinus noxius、Phytophthora ramorum、Verticillium dahliae、Ditylenchus destructor、Meloidogyne spp.（non-Chinese species）、Pratylenchus spp. (non-Chinese species), as well as other pests and alien species that pose serious harm to agricultural and forestry production and the ecological environment.
(2) Other substances other than those containing the components of the cultivation medium, such as plant seeds, soil, animal carcasses, animal manure, poultry feathers, plant residues, and other biosecurity risk substances.
(3) has not been used for cultivation or other agricultural purposes.
(4) All materials in the cultivation medium should not have the ability to reproduce.
5. Product packaging, storage and transportation requirements
(1) The cultivation medium should be sealed and packaged.
(2) The packaging material should be used for the first time and be clean.
(3) Each package shall indicate the name of the cultivation medium, the place of origin, the name of the production, processing and storage enterprise and its registration number in China in Chinese or English.
(4) The storage place before the export of cultivation medium should be relatively independent, clean and hygienic, and effective measures should be taken to prevent pest infestation.
(5) The means of transport should be clean and hygienic, without harmful organisms and other sundries. The packaging must not be opened or changed during transportation.
6. Pre-export quarantine requirements
The plant quarantine authorities of the exporting countries or regions shall quarantine the cultivation medium before it is exported to China, and issue a plant quarantine certificate in accordance with the No. 12 International Phytosanitary Measures Standard for the cultivation medium that meets the requirements of this requirement for cultivation media, and indicate in the additional statement that "the goods meet the plant quarantine requirements of China's imported organic cultivation media", and indicate the name of the production, processing and storage enterprise and its registration number in China. For the cultivation medium treated by pesticide, the treatment technical indicators should be indicated in the phytosanitary certificate, including temperature, humidity, agent, concentration, etc.
7. Entry quarantine and unqualified treatment
(1) Verification of certificates.
Verify whether the phytosanitary certificate is true and valid, and whether it is consistent with the declaration information and cargo information.
(2) Cargo inspection.
Quarantine inspection shall be carried out on the cultivation medium and its packaging and means of transportation. If necessary, samples are taken and sent to the laboratory for quarantine. Those who pass the quarantine shall be allowed to enter the country.
(3) Handling of unqualified situations.
1. If there is no valid quarantine certificate issued by the plant quarantine authority of the exporting country or region, it shall be returned or destroyed.
2. Soil, animal carcasses and other items prohibited from entering the country as stipulated in the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Quarantine of Animals and Plants Entering and Leaving the Country" shall be returned or destroyed.
3. If a live quarantine pest or other live pest that is seriously harmful to agricultural and forestry production or the ecological environment is found, it shall be allowed to enter the country after passing the pesticide treatment. If there is no effective pesticide treatment method, it shall be returned or destroyed.
4. If it is found that it does not conform to China's import plant quarantine laws and regulations and national standards, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant regulations.
In response to the relevant violations, GACC will notify the plant quarantine authorities of the exporting countries or regions, and take measures such as suspending the export of relevant production enterprises and relevant types of cultivation media to China in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, as appropriate.
8. Other requirements
The GACC will carry out further risk assessment of the imported organic cultivation media according to the interception of pests and other conditions, and dynamically adjust the types of organic cultivation media allowed to enter the country and the list of exporting countries or regions.
The organic cultivation medium that imported plants need to carry out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Law of China on the Quarantine of Imported and Exported Animals and Plants" and its implementation regulations shall be quarantined with the imported plants, which is not within the scope of application of this announcement.
This announcement will come into force on July 1, 2025.
GACC
Dec. 31, 2024
