MAR/85
WTO/SPS
MA Morocco
  • 65 - Agriculture
2022-08-09
2022-06-14

Plants, plant products and other items covered by Law No. 76-17 on plant protection (supports, packaging, containers, means of transport and any other item or material, including agricultural material, capable of harbouring or spreading pests).

Projet de décret fixant les modalités de surveillance et de contrôle phytosanitaires des végétaux, produits végétaux et autres objets (Draft Decree establishing phytosanitary surveillance and control measures for plants, plant products and other items)

Law No. 76-17 on plant protection established, on the basis of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), signed in Rome on 6 December 1951 and enacted by Dahir No. 1-73-439 of 14 Hija 1393 (8 January 1974), the Moroccan legal framework that enables the State to monitor and control pests with a view to ensuring the phytosanitary protection of plants throughout national territory.

The notified draft Decree establishes a number of specific provisions concerning the National Office for Food Safety (ONSSA), which, pursuant to Article 2 of Law No. 25-08 creating ONSSA, performs functions, on behalf of the State, relating to the protection of plant health and phytosanitary inspection.

Accordingly, the notified draft Decree sets out:

(1)  The framework within which phytosanitary surveillance is conducted in Morocco by the relevant ONSSA departments.

(2)  The phytosanitary control measures applicable to plants, plant products and other items upon importation, during transit and upon exportation, and the phytosanitary control measures applicable during the production, planting and circulation of propagation material and plants. The notified Decree, which is based primarily on the provisions of the IPPC's International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, will enable Morocco to ensure that its regulations are consistent with international standards as regards phytosanitary surveillance in the event of the emergence of new plant diseases, and will help the country prevent any quarantine pests from entering.