The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have reminded importers and operators of the requirements for importing hay and straw, as we enter the busy season.

Hay from grass, clover, vetches and lucerne (alfalfa) covered under CN code 1214 90 90, and straw covered under CN code 1213 00 00 are listed in EU Regulation 2021/632.

Hay and straw must be presented for official controls at the Border Control Post (BCP) either in Rosslare or Dublin ports at the time of arrival, as animal pathogens could possibly be transmitted.

Hay and straw are non-harmonised products which means there is no EU set of rules governing their import requirements. As such, national rules apply.

"It is important to protect Ireland’s high health status by only permitting the import of these commodities from certain countries," DAFM stated.

The list of approved third countries from which hay and straw can be imported is as follows; 

Australia; Belarus; Canada; Switzerland; Chile; Greenland; Iceland; New Zealand; Serbia; Ukraine; United States; United Kingdom; and South Africa (excluding Northern and Eastern Transvaal, Ingwavuma and Botswana border areas).

There are no approved establishments for the entry of hay or straw into the EU.

 The import requirements applicable are:

CHED-P submitted on TRACES-NT (IMSOC);
Pre-notification of the BCP 24 hours prior to arrival of the product through submission of documents to the DAFM Imports Portal;
Presentation of the consignment to DAFM official inspectors at the BCP of entry to the EU for documentary, identity, physical controls;
A commercial document should be completed by the exporter (or their agent) and should accompany the load to the BCP (either as a hard copy or an electronic copy of the signed original uploaded to the DAFM imports portal).

Further information and a template commercial document is available on the DAFM website.