Notice of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey on Amendment of the emergency measures in order to prevent the introduction into and the spread within Turkey of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)

Turkey would like to inform that with respect to comments taken from trading countries regarding SPS notifications G/SPS/N/TUR/109, G/SPS/N/TUR/109/Add.1 and G/SPS/N/TUR/109/Add.2 and within the framework of ensuring the harmonization of phytosanitary and quarantine legislation of Turkey with the EU legislation (Commission Implementation Directive 2020/1191), it has been necessary to introduce amendments on emergency measures taken in order to prevent the introduction into and the spread within Turkey of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV).
The import requirements are sorted out below with the amendments for each specified product, and they will be in force as of 31 January 2021 for all trading countries.

1- IMPORT OF PEPPER (Capsicum sp) VARIETIES FOR PLANTING FROM ALL COUNTRIES
>
The product should be accompanied with a phytosanitary certificate with the heading of "Additional Declaration" which is issued according to the following criteria depending on its resistance to ToBRFV:
If the product belongs to the varieties which are known to be resistant to ToBRFV, Additional Declaration contains the official statement that "The product belongs to the varieties which are known to be resistant to ToBRFV."; If the product belongs to the varieties which are not known to be resistant to ToBRFV, Additional Declaration should have the below explanations/information:
>1.1. The plants have been derived from the seeds found to be free from ToBRFV by analysis using the RT-PCR method and the analysis have shown them to be free from ToBRFV;  1.2. The plants intended for planting have been produced in a production site, which is registered and inspected by the national plant protection organization in the country of origin, and is known to be free of ToBRFV during official inspections carried out at the appropriate time to detect ToBRFV; and in case of any symptoms, tested for ToBRFV and found to be free from this pest;1.3. The name of the registered production site where the plants are produced must be stated.
2- IMPORT OF PEPPER (Capsicum sp) SEEDS FROM ALL COUNTRIES
>
The product should be accompanied with a phytosanitary certificate with the heading of "Additional Declaration" which is issued according to the following criteria depending on its resistance to ToBRFV:
If the product belongs to the varieties which are known to be resistant to ToBRFV, Additional Declaration should contain the official statement that "The product is an officially approved variety as being resistant to ToBRFV"; If the product belongs to the varieties which are not known to be resistant to ToBRFV; Additional Declaration should have the below explanations/information:
>2.1. The (mother) plants from which the seeds were obtained, have been produced in a production site where ToBRFV is known not to occur, on the basis of official inspections carried out at the appropriate time to detect ToBRFV;2.2. The seeds or their mother plants have been analyzed by RT-PCR method and found to be free of ToBRFV;2.3. The information providing the traceability of the production site of the (mother) plants from which the seeds are obtained must be specified.
3- IMPORT OF TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum) SEEDS FROM ALL COUNTRIES
>In the SPS notification with the symbol G/SPS/N/TUR/109/Add.2 for the import of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) seeds from all countries, Article 3 of the phytosanitary conditions that must be specified in the Phytosanitary Certificate as an additional declaration is changed as follows:
"Information providing the traceability of the production site of the (mother) plants from which the seeds are obtained".

4- IN THE IMPORT OF TOMATO AND PEPPER SEEDS WHERE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRODUCTION SITE IS NOT AVAILABLE WITH REGARD TO THE HARVEST PERIOD
>In the event that pepper seeds other than varieties known to be resistant to ToBRFV and tomato seeds were harvested before 1 October 2020 and information of production site is not available due to the lack of mother plants, for the import of tomato and pepper seeds from all countries until 31 May 2022, the product should be accompanied with a phytosanitary certificate of which "Additional Declaration" heading includes the following statements:
"The seeds or their mother plants have been analyzed by RT-PCR method and found to be free of ToBRFV", "The seeds were harvested before 1 October 2020 and the mother plants are not available for inspection."