New Plant Health Requirements are being planned for imports of Cedar wood (Thuja spp.), which includes Western Red Cedar being imported from Canada.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is proposing to bring legislation on the requirements before Parliament in early January, with the aim that they will be implemented at the end of January 2025.
The new requirement is for Cedar wood to be heat treated to 56°C for 30 minutes (core temperature) and accompanied with a phytosanitary certificate. Untreated, bark free, or simple kiln dried cedar wood will no longer be accepted.
The underlying reason for the new plant health requirement is to provide additional protection for UK forests resources against Heterobasidion irregulare. This pathogenic fungus causes root and butt rot on its host plants, mainly attacking important hosts from the Pinaceae (pine) and Cupressaceae (cypress) families, resulting in extensive tree mortality and a significant change in forest structure.
Heat treatment can be carried out on unseasoned wood, or commercial kiln drying schedules can incorporate a heat treatment requirement if they are specifically formatted to do so. In both cases the equipment must be registered with the national Plant Health authorities to undertake such operations and to allow the Phytosanitary Certificate to be issued.
TDUK’s latest Trade Note gives more information on the new Plant Health Requirements, and also includes links to more information about how the legislation will be amended. Logged-in TDUK members can access the Trade Note here.
