Plants, live; n.e.c. in heading no. 0601, (including their roots) cuttings and slips; mushroom spawn (heading 0602): importing markets

Fact sheet

Code

0602

Chapter

06 · Trees and other plants, live; bulbs, roots and the like; cut flowers and ornamental foliage

Subheadings

7

What to know before exporting heading 0602 from Spain

Heading 0602 belongs to Chapter 06 of the Harmonized System. It groups live plants, cuttings, slips and mushroom spawn that are not covered by heading 0601, which deals with bulbs, tubers and similar. The heading has 7 subheadings, so the code you declare is not the four-digit one but a longer one.

The subheading is the first decision. Rooted plants, unrooted cuttings, planting material and mushroom spawn are all live goods, but they are classified separately. The duty, the statistical reporting and the plant health documents are tied to the subheading, so a wrong classification affects all three.

For a company exporting from Spain, the duty depends on the destination, the subheading and the agreement in force between the EU and that country. Within the EU there is no customs duty, but there are still formalities. For non-EU markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Switzerland, the applicable duty is looked up in Access2Markets by entering the code and the destination.

Live plants are regulated as plant health goods. Whether a shipment needs a phytosanitary certificate or other plant passport documents depends on the species, the destination and the origin of the material. Spanish exporters check the requirements with the plant health authority of their region and with the importing country's own rules before preparing the shipment.

The table on this page shows where demand is concentrated, not where access is easiest. It reports imports declared by each country from the world, so it includes trade between neighbouring countries. Several of the largest importers are European, which matters for a Spanish exporter because shipping inside the EU involves no customs clearance and shorter transit for perishable goods.

Because the goods are alive, transport time and conditions weigh as much as the duty. Check the transit time to each market, the temperature requirements for the species and who bears the risk of loss in the agreed Incoterm before you quote.

Frequently asked questions