Fresh Indian produce and EU/UK plant-health rules: what can be shipped

This guide helps EU and UK importers work out which fresh Indian produce can realistically be shipped, which items face plant-health barriers, and how the phytosanitary certificate and border checks fit together. Rules change often, so treat it as a map of the questions to ask, and confirm the current position with your border control post or plant-health authority before you book cargo.

Two separate sets of rules

Fresh produce entering the EU or Great Britain passes two kinds of control, run by different authorities:

• Plant health. Protects crops from pests and diseases. In the EU the framework is Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 and its Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, which lists prohibited plants (Annex VI), special import requirements (Annex VII) and which products need a phytosanitary certificate. There is also a separate "high-risk plants" list under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019.
• Food safety. Protects consumers. For produce from India the most relevant instrument is Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, which sets increased border checks for named foods and origins, mostly for pesticide residues.

A consignment can pass one and fail the other. Plan for both.

The phytosanitary certificate

Since December 2019 the EU has required a phytosanitary certificate for almost all fresh fruit and vegetables from outside the EU. The short exemption list covers pineapples, coconuts, durians, bananas and dates. Everything else from India, including okra, gourds, chillies and leafy items, needs one.

How it works in practice:

1. The exporter applies to India's national plant protection organisation, the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, for each consignment.
2. An official inspects a sample of the packed produce before export.
3. The certificate is issued for that consignment, naming the product, botanical name, quantity, packages, origin and consignee.
4. Where the EU or GB requires a special requirement (for example freedom from a named pest), the certificate must carry an additional declaration that states which option was met, in the wording the rules require. A missing or wrongly worded declaration is a common reason for consignments to be held.
5. The importer pre-notifies the consignment before arrival: in the EU through TRACES, in GB through IPAFFS.

At the border, plant-health officials run documentary, identity and physical checks. Some fruit and vegetables from some origins qualify for reduced physical check rates; others are checked more often. Your border control post can tell you the current rate for your product and origin.

Item by item

Curry leaves

Fresh curry leaves (Murraya koenigii, also classed as Bergera koenigii) are the most restricted item on most Indian fresh lists. Curry leaf is a host of the bacteria behind citrus greening (huanglongbing) and its psyllid vectors, and EU rules have long required Murraya plant material other than fruit and seed to come from a country recognised as free of these bacteria. India is not recognised as free. The UK introduced its own ban on fresh curry leaves from non-EU countries in 2015.

Curry leaves from India are also in Annex II of Regulation 2019/1793, the stricter food-safety tier, with 50% of consignments subject to checks for pesticide residues. Annex II items need an official certificate from the exporting country with sampling and analysis results.

Practical position: do not plan fresh curry leaves from India for the EU or GB without written confirmation from your plant-health authority that the specific product form is admissible. Ask about dried leaves separately.

Chillies and other Capsicum

Fresh chillies need a phytosanitary certificate. EU Annex VII also sets special requirements for Capsicum fruit from origins where certain pests are present, including fruit flies found in Asia. Your exporter needs to know which option applies, and the certificate must carry the right additional declaration.

On the food side, fresh, chilled or frozen hot chillies (Capsicum other than sweet) from India are in Annex II of 2019/1793, with 30% of consignments checked for pesticide residues and an official certificate with lab results required.

Okra

Okra needs a phytosanitary certificate and is a frequent subject of physical inspection for insects. It does not face a blanket plant-health ban.

Under the version of 2019/1793 in force from 18 February 2026, okra from India sits in Annex I with 30% of consignments checked for pesticide residues, compared with 20% in the mid-2024 version. Recent residue test results against EU maximum residue levels are essential.

Bitter gourd and other Momordica

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) is regulated because of the melon thrips, Thrips palmi, which occurs in India. Under the EU's high-risk plant rules, Momordica fruit from countries where Thrips palmi is present has been blocked unless the EU has assessed and approved that origin. In 2022 the EU approved specific measures for a short list of origins (Honduras, Mexico, Sri Lanka and Thailand). Other origins need to show the fruit comes from a country or area recognised as free of the pest. India has not, to our knowledge, been approved under either route. GB's version of the rules also restricts Momordica fruit from countries where Thrips palmi occurs.

Practical position: check before you plan any bitter gourd programme from India to the EU or GB.

Other gourds, beans and drumsticks

Bottle gourd, ridge gourd, ivy gourd, beans and drumsticks need a phytosanitary certificate and face routine plant-health checks. On the food side, the February 2026 version of 2019/1793 lists for India:

Annex II items need an official certificate and lab results issued in India for each consignment.

Great Britain

GB took over the EU rules at Brexit and has amended them since, so the two systems now differ. In outline:

• Most fresh fruit and vegetables from India need a phytosanitary certificate, and consignments are pre-notified through IPAFFS.
• Checks take place at a border control post under the UK's Border Target Operating Model.
• GB keeps its own list of high-risk foods of non-animal origin, which does not always match the EU list.

Ask your clearing agent for the current GB requirements for each product, including any additional declarations.

How to avoid held consignments

• Name the product correctly. Botanical name and commodity code should match on invoice, certificate and pre-notification.
• Agree the additional declaration wording with your exporter before the first shipment.
• Get residue testing done before dispatch for items on the food-safety lists, at an accredited laboratory, against EU or GB limits.
• Grade out pests at origin. Interceptions lead to destruction or re-export and can raise future check rates for the whole origin.
• Keep a rules file. Note the regulation version you checked and its date, and recheck before each season.

Before you order

• Plant-health status of each item confirmed with your authority or border control post.
• Food-safety annex and check rate confirmed for each item.
• Phytosanitary certificate and additional declarations agreed.
• Residue test results and any official certificate arranged.
• Pre-notification (TRACES or IPAFFS) and border post booked.
• Curry leaves and bitter gourd treated as "confirm first" items.

If you're importing fresh Indian produce into the EU or UK, send us your item list, destination and border post and we'll check the documents your consignment needs and come back with a written quote.