Wood packaging import rules: Brazil

ISPM 15 on imports

Required

Enforced since

2004

Treatments

HT, MB (also DH and SF per ISPM 15; check current MAPA ordinance)

Plant protection authority

Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária (MAPA); border control by Vigiagro

Common pallet sizes

1000 × 1200 mm (PBR pallet)
1200 × 800 mm (EUR)
1100 × 1100 mm in some export lines

Main ports

Santos, Paranaguá, Itajaí, Rio de Janeiro

Overview

Brazil's wood packaging rules are issued by the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) and are applied at ports, airports and land borders by Vigiagro, the agricultural border surveillance service. The first ISPM 15-based regulation was Normative Instruction SDA 4 of 2004, followed by rewritten instructions in 2012, and a public consultation in December 2021 proposed a replacement ordinance (SDA 481), so importers should check the ordinance in force. The core requirement is unchanged: imported pallets, crates and dunnage must be treated to ISPM 15, bear the IPPC mark, and be free of bark and live pests. Where a consignment lacks the mark or shows infestation, Vigiagro can order treatment, destruction or return to origin, and the importer pays. Brazil is also a major exporter, and domestic pallet producers hold accreditation to stamp pallets for overseas shipments. The Brazilian pallet landscape is distinctive. The PBR pallet, 1000 × 1200 mm, was standardised by the supermarket association ABRAS and is used across retail and consumer goods, supported by a large pooled operation run by PBR. International trade uses 1200 × 1000 mm and 1200 × 800 mm, and CHEP has operated in Brazil for years. Santos is the biggest container port in Latin America and the first place WPM checks occur for most imports, followed by Paranaguá in the south.

Key points

• MAPA rules for wood packaging go back to Normative Instruction SDA 4/2004; later rewritten, with a public consultation on a new SDA ordinance in 2021
• Vigiagro inspects at ports, airports and borders
• Non-compliant WPM can be treated, destroyed or sent back at importer's cost
• PBR pallet is the national standard footprint

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Instrução Normativa SDA 4/2004 (normasbrasil)
2. MAPA – inspeção de embalagens e suportes de madeira (procedure)

Import rules change. Confirm current requirements with the national plant protection organization or your importer before shipping. This page is general information, not legal advice.