Exporting poultry to countries outside the EU

Swedish

There are rules that you need to take into consideration when exporting poultry and hatching eggs from Sweden to other countries. The rules may vary depending on the intended use of the poultry. You can read general information here. To find out all of the rules, you need to read the legislation.

What counts as poultry

Poultry are birds that have been raised or confined for breeding, meat or egg production or for stocking. You may also keep birds, for example, to participate in shows and competitions or for raising and sale. They are then called captive birds.

Hatching eggs are fertilised eggs intended for hatching.

Register as a transporter

If you are transporting poultry between countries, you must register as a transporter. Registration of transporters is not the same as a permit for transports for business purposes. You register as a transporter using our e-service.

E-service: Register transporter – move animals between countries – in Swedish

Plan the transport carefully

Please note that there may be areas with restrictions due to infectious animal diseases. There may then be special rules for transport in such an area. It is therefore important that you find out whether there are restrictions on where your animals are located or where they are to be transported to.

Plan the transport carefully so that the animals do not get stuck somewhere on the way. It is also important that you look up what rules apply for transport of animals when trading with animals.

Transports of poultry abroad – in Swedish

Exporting poultry and hatching eggs to countries outside the EU

This section describes what rules apply when you are exporting poultry and hatching eggs to a country outside the EU.

If the animals or the hatching eggs are going to Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Monaco or San Marino, the same rules apply as for movement to another EU Member State.

Bringing poultry from Sweden to other EU Member States

New rules for bringing animals or animal products to the United Kingdom

Here, you can find out what rules apply when you are bringing animals or animal products to the United Kingdom, but you must also read the general rules that apply when exporting to countries outside the EU.

As of 1 January 2021, new rules apply to trade with the United Kingdom. The ministry responsible for these rules is the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). If you have any questions, please contact them.

The rules are described in the guide Border Operating Model.

Border Operating Model (gov.uk)

The UK is implementing the new rules in several phases throughout 2021 and 2022. The conditions for exports to the United Kingdom may change, and it is therefore important that anyone carrying out exports stays up-to-date via the DEFRA’s website.

What you need to do as an exporter

Companies that are exporting to the UK need to, among other things:

In collaboration with the importer, find out which certificates should accompany the consignment.
Ensure that you have access to the web-based system Traces in order to record the details required for the certificate.
Check that the dispatching establishment is registered or approved, and that the transporter meets applicable requirements.
If the transport to the UK will pass through other EU Member States, you must also check what applies when exporting to other EU Member States.
Contact an official veterinarian in good time!

Health certificates and pre-registration

The importer to the UK should pre-register live animals, breeding materials and products from animals from the EU with the UK system Import of Products, Animals, Feed and Food Systems (IPAFFS). This must be done at the latest one business day prior to the expected arrival. A health certificate must always accompany the consignment. Physical controls may be carried out.

The health certificate has been developed by UK authorities and is available in the EU computer system Traces or on DEFRA’s website. It is your responsibility as an exporter to find out which certificate must be used, and for that reason it is important that you, potentially with the help of the importer, find out what is required by checking DEFRA’s website. You can also read more on their website about how the various parts of the certificate are filled in and which information is mandatory, and which is optional.

UK guide to completing a health certificate (gov.uk)

This applies to exports to the United Kingdom:

The importer must register the consignment in the UK through the IPAFFS computer system
The consignment will receive a unique notification number (UNN) in IPAFFS, which has the format IMP.GB.2021.1XXXXXX.
A health certificate issued by an official veterinarian in Sweden must always accompany the consignment.
The importer in the UK must provide the UNN number to the exporter or to the official veterinarian in Sweden, who will record the number in the health certificate.
The exporter must provide the importer with an electronic copy of the health certificate so that it can be uploaded to IPAFFS.
The exporter is responsible for ensuring that the original health certificate accompanies the consignment.

Find out what the rules are in the destination country

In order to export or bring animals to a country outside the EU (other than Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Monaco or San Marino), you need to find out which requirements apply in the destination country. Contact the embassy or the veterinary authorities of the destination country well in advance in order to find out:

Whether it is possible to travel with the animals or export them to the destination country
Which rules apply in the country to which the animals are travelling
Whether you need to apply for anything in particular, e.g. an import licence
Whether the animals must be quarantined or vaccinated before being transported
Which health certificates are required, or which requirements must be met
Whether any particular permit is required

You need a health certificate

Contact an official veterinarian well in advance to ascertain whether there is any negotiated health certificate which is valid in the country to which you are travelling or selling your animals. If there is a negotiated certificate it should be used.

If there is no negotiated certificate, you should contact the authorities in the destination country and find out which certificates they accept or what requirements must be met. If they only accept their own country's certificate, make sure your official veterinarian gets it well in advance. Never use a previously saved certificate without checking with the receiving country that the certificate is still valid and it is the latest version.

If you have only been informed about the requirements that must be met in order to be allowed to export to the country, it is you as the exporter who must write the certificate and insert the current requirements, as well as verify in writing with the recipient country that the final version is approved.

You must then give the information and the certificate to your official veterinarian in writing well in advance of the planned export.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture’s logo must not be used for a non-negotiated certificate.

The official veterinarian can always refuse to sign a health certificate if the requirements of the certificate are not met or if it is written in a language that the official veterinarian does not understand.

Please note that when a non-negotiated or general certificate is used, the export takes place at the exporter's own risk. Neither the Swedish Board of Agriculture nor the official veterinarian can provide any guarantees that the certificate will be accepted.

Official veterinarians in Sweden – in Swedish

In the case of hatching eggs and day-old chicks, you can ask whether they accept the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s general export certificate. In that case, an official veterinarian can issue such a certificate. EGEN

If applicable, submit an export application

If your export of animals must be negotiated with the authorities in the destination countries, you should submit an export application using our e-service. Once the export application has been received, negotiations with the destination country will be managed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture. Keep in mind that negotiations may take a long time (usually several years) to complete. It is not a solution for a one-time export.

The export application is primarily aimed at those who intend to export large quantities and frequently. Note that received export applications are prioritized by the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

E-service: Export application – in Swedish

Find out if there are any export restrictions

Before you travel with animals or export them to countries outside the EU, you need to find out if any export restrictions apply due to contagious animal diseases.

Restrictions on trade and movements of animals – in Swedish

Find out what rules apply for the transport

It is also important that you find out what rules and requirements apply to the transport.

Submit a customs declaration

If you sell animals to a country outside the EU, you must submit an electronic customs declaration to the Swedish Customs.

Exporting goods (tullverket.se)

If the animals are returning to Sweden later

If you are bringing back animals that you have previously travelled with or exported to a country outside the EU, you need to find out what rules apply.