Importing seeds from us...

Importing Sweet Pea Seeds and International seed orders...

Our Terms and Conditions state that orders can only be sent to an address outside Great Britain at the purchaser’s risk. Why is this?

From 1st January 2021, seeds exported from Great Britain should be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate. We can obtain this certificate for customers if requested but the cost is very expensive. Generally, the total cost to obtain a certificate is 190.00 GBP plus 30.00 GBP per variety. In addition, the customer may be liable to charges by their own Customs service for managing the importation of seeds. Time will tell how successful it is to ship seeds without such a certificate. Experience from the USA has been that 94% of shipments arrive safely but importing into European countries may vary.

* UPDATE July 2024 * – currently US Customs are being particularly vigilant.  
We do not send orders to The Netherland, Germany or Sweden due to a very low success rate with these countries.

I am pleased to report that we currently have a 100% success rate in sending orders to Canada.

If you are unlucky enough to have your seeds destroyed by Customs, it hurts. You have paid for the cost of the seeds and for shipping but get nothing for your money. In such circumstances, we are willing to send a second order at half the cost to help share your pain but there is no certainty a second package will be more successful.

So the message has to be: please think carefully before placing an order from a supplier in the UK. We welcome your order but shipping is at your own risk and we cannot give you a refund if your seeds are destroyed by your country’s Customs.

Importing Lathyrus Seeds into the USA

There is a longer history of restrictions which the US Government places on seed imports. In addition, seeds to the USA need to be chemically treated against Weevils. There are two options for achieving this. The first option requires a customer to have an Import Permit. These are free and can be obtained by the customer online at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/permits/plants-and-plant-products-permits/plants-for-planting/plants-for-planting

Once you have a permit, you can apply for labels to accompany your seeds which identify that they should be quarantined on arrival in the USA and treated with methyl bromide. When seeds have been treated in the USA, the cost to the customer was considerable, about 1000.00 USD, but reports from some customers in the USA are that treatment centres have now been closed. Your seeds will probably be delivered untreated but there is also a risk of being destroyed by US Customs.

The second option does not require an Import Permit. We can treat the seeds here and include this fact on the Phytosanitary Certificate. The cost is considerably cheaper than paying for treatment in the USA but adds 60.00 GBP, about 79.00 USD, in addition to the costs above. We have sent seeds this way several times and all have arrived safely but the Regulations are so complex that we remain concerned whether the person in US Customs dealing with your package fully understands them.

Because of the high cost involved in shipping seeds with a Phytosanitary Certificate, most of our customers prefer to risk shipping without a certificate. In our experience, some 95% of packages to the USA sent this way arrive safely but about 5% (1 in 20) are intercepted and destroyed by US Customs. If you are unlucky enough to have your seeds destroyed by US Customs, it hurts. You have paid for the cost of the seeds and for shipping but get nothing for your money. In such circumstances, we are willing to send a second order at half the cost to help share your pain but there is no certainty a second package will be more successful.

So the message has to be: please think carefully before placing an order from a supplier outside the USA. We welcome your order but shipping is at your own risk so please don’t expect a refund if your seeds are destroyed by US Customs.

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