ISPM 15 and AFAS Standard

ISPM 15 is the ‘International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures Publication No. 15: Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade’.

ISPM 15 was developed to address the global spread of timber pests by regulating the movement of timber packing and dunnage in international trade. ISPM 15 describes phytosanitary measures to reduce the risk of introduction and/or spread of quarantine pests associated with solid timber packing material (includes dunnage).

The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) addresses plant quarantine through the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The IPPC is an international treaty administered by the FAO and implemented through the cooperation of member governments. India is a member or ‘contracting party’ to the treaty.

ISPMs are recognised as the basis for phytosanitary measures applied by members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

Many countries, including India, have implemented systems to accept ISPM 15 compliant imports. India has implemented ISPM 15 for exports also. Countries are not obliged to advise trading partners of their ISPM 15 export readiness so it is difficult to determine the ISPM 15 implementation status of various countries. The National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) of the importing country is the authority to give you the correct information. For a brief list of countries, see our page on ISPM Countries.

AFAS Standard

The Australian Fumigation Accreditation Scheme (AFAS) is a bilateral arrangement between the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (the department) and our country’s biosecurity regulatory agency. AFAS manages the high biosecurity risk posed by ineffective methyl bromide (MB) fumigations.

Any consignments going to Australia must be treated by an AFAS accredited fumigation agency.

AFAS ensures ongoing compliance of registered MB treatment providers with the requirements of the AFAS MB fumigation standard. AFAS registered treatment providers are trained in all AFAS requirements and undergo regular compliance assessments providing increased confidence in the pre-export MB fumigations conducted on Australian bound consignments.