Wood packaging import rules: Latvia

ISPM 15 on imports

Required

Enforced since

2005

Treatments

HT, DH, SF accepted on imports; MB-marked WPM accepted if ISPM 15 compliant, but MB fumigation itself is no longer permitted inside the EU

Plant protection authority

State Plant Protection Service (VAAD)

Common pallet sizes

1200 × 800 mm (EUR)
1200 × 1000 mm
800 × 600 mm (half pallet)

Main ports

Riga, Ventspils, Liepāja

Overview

Latvia enforces the EU wood packaging rules, so wood packaging from outside the EU must be debarked, ISPM 15-treated and marked with the IPPC mark (Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 and Annex VII of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072). The competent body is the State Plant Protection Service, VAAD, whose Plant Quarantine Department in Riga is the IPPC contact point; its inspectors work at Riga, Ventspils and Liepāja and at the road and rail border crossings with Russia and Belarus. These crossings carry heavy traffic, so a large share of wood packaging encountered is third-country material subject to marks. The three major ports handle sizeable transit and bulk flows, and the plant health service checks consignments entering EU territory, while cargo in transit stays under customs control. If wood is unmarked or contaminated, it can be treated, destroyed or returned, and repeated violations lead to closer checks. Latvia's forestry sector is among the largest in Europe relative to its size, so pallet timber and pallets are produced domestically on a big scale and are widely exported. The EUR pallet, 1200 × 800 mm, is the norm for retail and food chains, while 1200 × 1000 mm pallets show up in industry and links with Nordic and Russian-origin supply chains. Rental pallet pools exist but a large share of the market is non-pooled one-way and repaired pallets.

Key points

• VAAD inspects imports at ports and the borders with Russia and Belarus
• Intra-EU movements of WPM generally exempt from ISPM 15 marking (pinewood-nematode rules for Portuguese conifer WPM excepted)
• Riga, Ventspils and Liepāja handle a large transit flow of bulk and containerised cargo
• Non-compliant WPM may be treated, destroyed or returned at the importer's expense

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. IPPC country page – Latvia
2. EUR-Lex – Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072

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.