Buying seeds online?

Buying disease-free seeds online

If you're buying seeds online, make sure the seller can prove the seeds are free from disease. For example, the seller could provide you with the phytosanitary certificate or testing report. This way you shouldn't end up with any nasty surprises. Seeds that don't have this documentation may carry pests and diseases – such as tomato brown rugose fruit virus, which attacks tomatoes, capsicums, and chillies.

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus and many other overseas pests and diseases are not present in New Zealand, and we need your help to keep it that way. These organisms would cause serious environmental, economic, and social impacts if they were introduced here.

How to know whether seeds you want to buy online are disease-free

If you are buying seeds from a New Zealand producer or seller make sure the seller can prove the seeds are free from disease by providing you with the phytosanitary certificate or testing report.

If you have doubts about whether the seeds you want to buy are free of pests and diseases, or you doubt the legitimacy of the supplier, you should buy your seeds from someone else.

If you are buying seeds from overseas, you are responsible for meeting the same biosecurity requirements that commercial seed importers must meet. This means:

• the seeds need to be clearly labelled with their full scientific names, be free from flesh, soil and contaminant seed, and be in clean packaging
• for some species, you must get a phytosanitary certificate from the relevant government authority of the country the seeds are being exported from
• many species, including tomato, require pest-freedom declarations to be provided, or alternatively for the seed to be tested either pre-export or on arrival in New Zealand
• MPI border officers will inspect all seed coming into New Zealand to ensure it complies with our rules.

In summary, you must comply with very strict biosecurity rules to buy seeds from overseas to bring into New Zealand.

If you are considering buying seeds from overseas, search the Plants Biosecurity Index to find the specific biosecurity requirements that apply to those seeds.

Plants Biosecurity Index - PIER search

Steps to importing seeds for sowing

How to report pests or sellers of untested seeds

If you suspect that your plants or seeds are infected, or if you suspect a seed seller has illegally imported seeds, call the MPI exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 809 966.

If you would like help or advice about importing seeds, email PlantImports@mpi.govt.nz