Trade with cut flowers and other parts of plants
If you are trading with fresh cut flowers and other living parts of plants, you must follow plant health rules to prevent the spread of plant pests. If you trade with organic products or plants which are endangered following extensive trade, there are further rules that you must comply with.
On this page, cut flowers and other parts of plants refers to living parts of plants, such as fresh flowers and leaves, bouquets, wreaths, live branches and Christmas trees.
The information on this page does not apply to plants or plant propagating material which are to be cultivated further, such as scion cuttings, nor fruits and vegetables or seed. Different rules apply to those products.
- Trade with plants and plant propagating material
- Trade with agricultural foodstuffs – fruit and vegetables – in Swedish
- Marketing, import and export of seeds
Trade with countries outside the EU
If you are bringing in cut flowers or other parts of plants from a country outside the EU, there must be a phytosanitary certificate for the products. The phytosanitary certificate is a document issued by the plant protection organisation in the exporting country, showing that they have checked the products and verified that the products are free from regulated pests. You shall also notify the Swedish Board of Agriculture of the import.
Some plants entail such considerable risk that they are not allowed to be imported at all if they come from certain countries or certain parts of the world.
If you are selling cut flowers or other parts of plants to a country outside the EU, you need to find out what the rules are in the recipient country. Some countries require a phytosanitary certificate for the products. You can apply for a certificate at the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
Trade within Sweden and the EU
When you trade within Sweden and the EU, a plant passport is required for plant parts (except fruits and seeds) of
- Choisya (and their hybrids)
- Citrus (and their hybrids)
- Fortunella (and their hybrids)
- Poncirus (and their hybrids)
- Casimiroa
- Clausena
- Murraya
- Vepris
- Zanthoxylum
- Vitis
The purpose of the plant passport is to certify that the plant product has been examined and has been found free from regulated plant pests. The plant passport is attached to the plant product in the form of a label.
If you trade with cut flowers and other parts of plants which require plant passport, you must also register your business with the Swedish Board of Agriculture. At the latest on 30 April each year, you shall update the information from the previous year, if it has changed. You can do this using our e-service.
If you trade with other species of cut flowers and other parts of plants within Sweden and the EU, you do not need to register your business with the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
There may be other rules in areas within the EU where plant pests are present. You need to be attentive to local information from your supplier or the competent authority in that EU Member State if you are trading in products from such areas. Quarantine pests are pests which have not yet spread within the EU and which may have unacceptable environmental, financial or social consequences if they do spread.
Organic cut flowers and other parts of plants
In order to be permitted to sell your cut flowers and other parts of plants as organic, you must be certified for organic production.
When you trade with cut flowers and other parts of plants with countries outside the EU, there are additional rules that you must comply with in order to be permitted to sell them as organic in Sweden and the rest of the EU.
Trade with hops requires certification
Products of hops sold within the EU shall be certified to show where the hops were produced, when they were harvested and what variety or varieties they are.
When importing hops from countries outside the EU, you must present a certain certificate to the customs showing that the products are equivalent to EU products. The certificate is issued by the competent authority in the country where the hops have been cultivated.
The requirement to present a certificate applies to these hop products:
- hop cones, fresh or dried
- hops in powder or pellet form
- hops extract.
The Swedish Customs will check that you meet the certificate requirements.
For fresh hop cones, there must also be a phytosanitary certificate when importing from countries outside the EU.
A licence is required for the import of hemp
If you are going to import hemp from a country outside the EU, you need a licence which you apply for in our e-service. This is the case regardless of the quantity.
Trade with endangered plants – CITES
If you will be trading with plants which are endangered due to extensive trade, or which are at risk of being endangered, there are special rules that you must follow. These rules are called CITES.
Revision date: 2024-08-21