On changes in the circulation of varieties due to Brexit
We have received information from the European Commission regarding possible changes in the trade of agricultural crop seeds in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Varieties that are currently included in the EU Common Catalogue only from the UK until 30.03.2019 should be included and maintained in one of the EU 27 Member States (MS) catalogues, so that they can be marketed in the EU after 30.03.2019.
If any of the varieties currently included in the EU common catalogue and maintained only in the UK by 30.03.2019. will not be included in the catalogue and maintained in any of the 27 EU Member States, it will be deleted from the EU common catalogue by 30.03.2019. This means that seeds of these varieties in the EU and Latvia after 30.03.2019. will not be able to be sold or sown for seed production.
Information has been compiled on the Latvian plant variety catalogue and the EU in the common catalogue of agricultural plant varietiesincluded in the UK varieties, which are or have been seeded in Latvia, and which are maintained in the EU common catalogue from the UK.
The Latvian plant variety catalogue includes 6 cereal varieties that were bred in the UK:
Spring wheat: Azurite, KWS Willow
Summer barley: Propino, Publican, Quench, Sanette.
Spring wheat: Azurite- the variety could be deleted from the EU catalogue after 30.03.2019, because it is only in the LV catalog and the maintainer is UK (it was not certified in Latvia in 2016 and 2017, and was not applied for field inspections in 2018).
Spring wheat: KWS Willow – the variety could be deleted from the EU catalogue after 30.03.2019, because it is only in the LV catalog and is maintained in the UK (C2 category certified in Latvia in 2016, was not in seed production in 2017, C2 category applied for in field inspections in 2018).
Summer barley: Publican- the variety could be deleted from the EU catalogue after 30.03.2019, because the variety is only in the LV and Finnish catalog and is maintained in the UK (it was not certified in Latvia in 2016 and 2017, and was not applied for field inspections in 2018)
Summer barley: Propino- Judging by the EU common catalogue, there should be no problems with this variety, as breeders outside the UK are also in other MS (in Latvia, category C1 and C2 were certified in 2016 and 2017, category C2 was applied for field inspections in 2018).
Summer barley: Quench- There should be no problems with this breed, because According to the EU Common Catalogue, the variety is also maintained outside the UK in DE (category B and C certified in Latvia in 2016 and 2017, category C1 and C2 applied for field inspection in 2018).
Summer barley: Sanette- There should be no problems with this breed, because According to the EU Common Catalogue, the variety is also maintained outside the UK in FR and Switzerland (it was not certified in Latvia in 2016 and 2017, and was not applied for field inspections in 2018).
Also grown and certified in Latvia EU Common Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties (included in the EU catalogue from other MS) which are currently maintained only in the UK. They are:
Spring wheat variety Granary
Oat variety Oakley
A spring wheat variety is grown and certified in Latvia Granary. This variety is not included in the Latvian plant variety catalogue, but in the EU common catalogue it is included only from the UK and is maintained only in the UK. Consequently after 30.03.2019 this variety could be deleted from the EU catalogue (In Latvia, categories C1 and C2 were certified in 2016 and 2017, categories C1 and C2 were applied for field inspection in 2018).
An oat variety is grown and certified in Latvia Oakley. This variety is not included in the Latvian plant variety catalogue, but in the EU common catalogue it is included only from the UK and is maintained only in the UK. Consequently after 30.03.2019 this variety could be deleted from the EU catalogue (In Latvia, there was no certification in 2016 and 2017, and in 2018, category C2 was applied for field inspection).
When purchasing seeds for the 2019 sowing season, please pay attention to whether the variety is included in the Latvian Plant Variety Catalogue and the Common Plant Variety Catalogue of the European Union.