Crossing Borders - Information for World Rose Festival Marketplace Exhibitors
The following information will assist World Rose Festival Marketplace Exhibitors (those promoting and selling plants, goods and services) with crossing borders and shipping.
(If you wish to be or are registered as a World Rose Show Exhibitor (those displaying/exhibiting cut roses/flowers as part of the Wold Rose Convention), please visit the Convention website for information on bringing cut flowers/roses across the border.)
Promoting and selling plants, goods & services
Coming to the Event
To ensure your experience entering Canada with cut flowers/roses, plants and other goods and services is hassle free, the World Rose Convention and Festival has arranged for onsite customs clearance and inspection at the Festival/Rose Show venue (the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre), and has appointed Events on the Move as the official company to provide assistance with:
- Freight Forwarding and Shipping
- Customs Brokerage
- Material Handling
- Advance warehousing service.
The World Rose Convention and Festival are recognized and registered events with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), with means several things.
- Goods and services, once reported at the first port of entry (any port of entry to Canada), can either move without delay from that port of entry to the venue for customs clearance or be cleared in person at the port of entry.
- Items that are imported for display purposes and exported after the Convention and Festival can enter the country tax and duty free.
- Items that are imported for sale and are given away during the event require formal customs and accounting documentation, and any applicable taxes and duties will be collected at the time of import.
Contact Theresa Smith via email at tsmith@eventsonthemove.com for further assistance and information.
Once you are a confirmed exhibitor in the World Rose Festival Marketplace, your next steps are to:
- Arrange phytosanitary certificate/s and import permit/s if importing plants (see below for details)
- Complete and return a service order form, which includes a commercial invoice to Events on the Move, the official Custom Broker for the World Rose Convention 2009 and Festival.
- Review and follow these shipping guidelines.
- If you represent a non Canadian organization and will be selling products or services in Canada, you have several options: 1) obtain a temporary work permit in your country, 2) bring samples for display only and take sales orders to fulfill upon your return home, or 3) hire a Canadian to handle sales transactions onsite.
Plants and Plant Products Entering Canada
All plants and plant products entering Canada are subject to inspection. It is likely that the plants will be inspected once they have arrived in Vancouver. Arrangements will be made by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and event organizers to make the inspection process as expedient as possible.
If you are importing rose plants from the continental United States, you do not require an import permit, but do require a phytosanitary certificate from the State of origin. Please contact your local USDA/State Agriculture office to find out how to obtain a phytosanitary certificate for your plants.
If you are importing plants other than rose plants from the continental United States, you may require an import permit, and will require a phytosanitary certificate from the State of origin. Please contact your local USDA/State Agriculture office to find out how to obtain a phytosanitary certificate for your plants. To find out if the type of plant you are importing requires a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) import permit, visit the CFIA website. To download a copy of an import permit application, click here.
If you are importing rose plants and/or other plants from countries other than the continental United States, you require a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) import permit, and a phytosanitary certificate issued by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) in the country of origin (often the Ministry or Department of Agriculture/ Forestry/Quarantine). For help in locating the NPPO of the country of origin, click here. To download a copy of an import permit application, click here. This permit must be applied for and issued by the CFIA before the plants enter Canada.
Returning Home
To expedite the process of returning home, the World Rose Convention and Festival will provide an onsite quarantine area for all plants, and personnel from Events on the Move and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will provide onsite customs brokerage, plant inspection and export paperwork services. An inspector from Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will also be available.
If you are exporting plants back to the continental United States, then:
- The plant/s must not be a prohibited or restricted plant, and the country of origin confirmed. The CFIA can help you determine this onsite at the World Rose Convention and Festival. If the plant was grown in Canada (and is not prohibited), a phytosanitary certificate can be issued. If the plant is from another country, it may not be possible for CFIA to certify the plant.
- The plant/s must be inspected by CFIA and found free of pests and diseases, and a phytosanitary certificate issued. The certificate must be presented to the Customs and Border Protection officials when crossing the border into the United States.
Note: If a plant is brought in from the United States, bought in Canada by another exhibitor/person and taken back into the United States, a re-export certificate is required.
If you are exporting plants back to countries other than the continental United States, then:
- It depends on what plant you are interested in, and what country is involved. Different countries have different rules and restrictions for importing plants.
- The CFIA has limited access to the specific import information of different countries. Before you come to the World Rose Convention and Festival, please contact your country’s National Plant Protection Organization and ask if you will need special permits and which plants are allowed in. Often, plants need to be treated, washed free of all soil and growing media or require special permits. The CFIA may not be able to issue phytosanitary certificates for plants going to countries other than the US. For help in locating the NPPO of the country of origin, click here.
For additional Information
For additional information and or assistance regarding Freight Forwarding and Shipping, Customs Brokerage, Material Handling and Advance warehousing service, please contact:
Peter Robichaud, Sales Manager – Events on the Move
Customs Brokerage and Shipping for the Meeting and Convention Industry
605 – 1125 Howe Street, Vancouver
BC, Canada V6Z 2K8
Tel: 604-647-0130
Fax: 604-647-0136
Toll Free: 1-877-355-1116
probichaud@eventsonthemove.com
For additional information about transporting roses and plants across the border into Canada, please review the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website under Plant and Plant Product Imports or email your enquiry to info@worldrosefestival.com.