SENASA Overhauls Phytosanitary Controls for Imported Wood Packaging
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Argentina has updated its phytosanitary control regime for wood packaging material entering the country together with imported goods. Resolution 873/2026 issued by the National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (SENASA) consolidated previously scattered regulations into a single text and established a new risk-based scheme aimed at simplifying procedures, reducing operational timeframes, and concentrating physical inspections on shipments with a higher likelihood of non-compliance.
Scope of the measure
The regulation covers pallets, dunnage and wood packaging material entering the country by air, land, sea or rail. It continues to reference FAO's International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15), which sets out the treatment and marking requirements this packaging must meet in order to prevent the introduction of forest pests not currently present in the country.
A matrix to determine risk
One of the main changes is the introduction of a phytosanitary risk matrix that will determine which shipments require physical inspection. The system assesses the country of origin and provenance, the type of product being transported, and the track record of importers, exporters, customs brokers and customs transport agents, allowing operations to be classified as high, medium or low risk. For low-risk shipments, physical inspections will be carried out through random selection, although the probability may vary depending on each operator's compliance history.
Inspection at the border or at a final warehouse
The new regime allows importers to choose whether the inspection is carried out at the point of entry into the country or at a previously declared final warehouse. In the latter case, the cargo can be deconsolidated and released for immediate use, while the wood packaging is kept separate in a holding area pending official inspection, avoiding the need to keep the entire shipment immobilized. A single warehouse may gather wood packaging from different shipments for joint inspection, but if non-compliance is detected, all packaging present in that holding area must be destroyed in accordance with official instructions.
Requirements, penalties and digitalization
Authorized final warehouses must have a holding area fitted with anti-aphid mesh, identification and traceability mechanisms, and the capacity to immediately destroy non-compliant material through chipping, incineration, burial or another authorized method, with costs borne by the importer or the party responsible for the warehouse. Failure to ensure traceability may result in the facility being disqualified. According to SENASA, non-compliance such as a missing or altered mark, excess bark, the presence of insects or false statements in the sworn declaration can lead to measures ranging from quarantine treatment to shredding, deep burial or incineration. The sworn declaration required prior to arrival continues to be processed through the Integrated Management System for Imported Wood Packaging, linked to the Malvina computer system, as part of a broader push toward digitalizing authorizations and procedures.
