Potato exports guide

Kuwait

Seed potatoes (updated 16 July 2019)

Growing crop tolerances

Inspector's instructions KW/2006/01 apply.

Class tolerances apply, except if the tolerances below are stricter:

• Potato Leaf Roll Virus (PLRV): NIL
• Total viruses: no more than 0.5%
• Witches' Broom (phytoplasma): NIL 

Tuber tolerances

Inspector's instructions KW/2006/01 apply.

Minimum tolerances for seed export apply, except for:

• Pink rot (Phytophthora eryhtroseptica): NIL
• Tuber late blight (Phytophthora infestans): NIL
• Bacterial soft rot / Blackleg (Erwinia carotovora): NIL
• Spraing (PMTV & TRV): NIL
• Frost injury: 0%
• Black scurf ( Rhizoctonia solani): 90% of tubers should have no more than 1% of surface area covered per tuber; 10% may have up to 5% of surface area covered per tuber as long as the eyes are not affected.
• Common scab ( Streptomyces scabies): no more than Dutch scale 1
• Powdery scab ( Spongospora subterranea): no more than Dutch scale 1
• Mechanical damage (healed and dry): no more than 1% by weight
• Misshapes or greening: no more than 3% by weight

The following tuber diseases and defects are allowed only at very low tolerances by weight:

Other requirements

Import permit: approval for import from the Kuwaiti authorities is required.

Varieties: only varieties previously planted or trialled in Kuwait are accepted.

Grade: class SE and E (for seed crop production) and A (for ware crop production) are accepted.

Size: tubers should be between 28 and 60 mm in diameter. Tubers should be sound and not wrinkled. Sprouts should be smaller than 2 mm.

Packaging: 25 or 50 kg bags only.

Labelling: In addition to the official label, each bag should include two more labels: one inside the bag and the other fixed on the outside, one of them should be plastic. Names of the importer and the exporter, the variety, class, size, the producer's unique number, date of production and the country of origin should be written on each label.

Procedures on arrival: at the port of entry, the consignment will be inspected by officers of the Kuwaiti Agricultural Quarantine Department. The Agricultural Quarantine Officer will personally take a representative sample from each container in the consignment of about 1% of the consignment size for laboratory testing and evaluation. A sample from the soil present in the bags will also be taken and analysed to determine that it is free from nematodes and other disease agents prohibited from entering Kuwait. The laboratory test should not exceed seven days from the date of the sample's arrival at the laboratory. The importer should follow up the result during this period. The consignment will not be released from quarantine before receipt of the laboratory test results.

Additional declarations to be included on the reverse of phytosanitary certificate for seed potatoes

1. The seed potatoes were grown in a Pest Free Area for: Popillia japonica (Japanese beetle), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado beetle), Phthorimeae operculella (Potato tuber moth), Hydroecin micacea (Potato stem borer), Corynebacterium sepedonicum (Ring rot), Pseudomonas solanacearum (Brown rot), Meloidogyne spp. (Root knot nematode), Potato Yellow Dwarf Virus (PYDV), Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid (STVd).
2. Synchytrium endobioticum (Potato wart disease) and Ditylenchus destructor (Stem nematode) are not known to occur in the area of production of the seed potatoes.
3. Samples of soil from the land in which the potatoes were grown were drawn and tested prior to planting and revealed no trace of Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida (Golden nematode).
4. The seed potatoes were visually inspected and found free from the following pests, diseases and disorders: Phytophthora erythroseptica (Pink rot), Phythophthora infestans (Tuber late blight), Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora (Bacterial tuber soft rot), Erwinia carotovora ssp. atroseptica (Blackleg), Trichodorus spp. & Paratrichodorus spp. (Stubby root nematode), Potato leaf roll virus (PLRV), Potato mop top virus (PMTV), Corky ring spot (Tobacco rattle virus, TRV), Frost injury, Phytoplasma.
5. The presence of the following pests, diseases or disorders is within the allowed tolerances: Fusarium spp. (Dry rot), Alternaria solani (Early blight), Sclerotinia spp. (Cottony rot), Verticillium spp. (Verticillium wilt), Phoma spp. (Gangrene), Polyscytalum pustulans (Skin spot), Internal rust spot, Hollow heart, Mechanical damage, Rhizoctonia solani (Black scurf) , Streptomyces scabies (Common scab), Spongospora subterranea (Powdery scab), Deformation and greening.
6. The rate of infection with viral diseases did not exceed 0.5% during crop growth.
7. The seed lots are within limit for soil particles and any other foreign materials.
8. The consignment was examined and found to be in conformity with the health standards prescribed above and certified accordingly within 14 days prior to exportation.