China suspends seed potato imports from 31 countries over zebra chip pathogen
China's General Administration of Customs (GACC) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly suspended import approval for seed potatoes and other potato propagative material from 31 countries and territories, effective 1 August 2026, where Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum — the bacterium associated with zebra chip disease — has been officially reported. The measure followed repeated interceptions of the pathogen in imported planting material during Chinese port quarantine inspections.
Key facts
- Effective 1 August 2026, GACC and MARA jointly suspended import approval for seed potatoes and other potato planting material from 31 countries and territories where Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (the zebra chip pathogen) has been officially reported.
- The list spans the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, most of the EU, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia's Norfolk Island, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel, Türkiye and several Latin American countries, and is explicitly not permanent — GACC says it will update the list as new outbreaks or interceptions occur.
The affected list is broad and spans multiple continents: the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Israel, Türkiye, South Korea, Morocco, Tunisia, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, New Zealand and Australia's Norfolk Island — 31 in total. This is a planting-material measure, not a finished-product ban: seed potatoes and other propagative material are affected because they can carry and introduce the pathogen into new growing regions, while table potatoes and processed potato products are a separate risk category not automatically covered by this suspension.
GACC has stated the list is not permanent and will be revised as new outbreaks are reported globally or further interceptions occur at Chinese ports — meaning both additions and removals are plausible as the phytosanitary picture develops. Exporters of seed potatoes or other potato planting material from any of the 31 listed origins should treat current suspension as the operative status until GACC issues a specific update, rather than assuming a review timeline.
Why it matters
If you export seed potatoes or other potato planting material to China from any of the 31 listed countries, that channel is suspended as of 1 August 2026 — check whether your specific origin is on the list (it is a broad, multi-continent set, not just the usual seed-potato exporting nations) before assuming your shipment is unaffected.