The use of wood packaging materials (WPMs) in international trade is recognized as a pathway for the movement
of invasive pests and as the origin of most introductions of Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis
(Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Europe and North America. Following several pest interceptions on
WPM associated with stone imports from China, the European Union (EU) agreed to survey certain categories
of imports based on the EU Combined Nomenclature Codes for imports, which are based on the international
Harmonized System. Between April 2013 and March 2015, 72,263 relevant consignments were received from China
in the EU and 26,008 were inspected. Harmful organisms were detected in 0.9% of the consignments, and 1.1% of
the imports did not have markings compliant with the international standard for treating WPM, ISPM 15. There were
significant differences between the detection rates of harmful organisms among EU member states. In member
states that inspected at least 500 consignments, the rate of detection ranged from 6.9% in Austria and France to
0.0% in Spain and Poland. If this difference in detection rate is the result of differences in the methods and intensity
of inspection in different member states then an approximate sevenfold increase in the interception of harmful
organisms may be achieved if all states were to achieve detection rates achieved by Austria and France. The EU data
from 1999 to 2014 indicated an increasing number of interceptions of Bostrichidae and Cerambycidae since 2010.
This study demonstrates that there is an ongoing threat of non-native forest pests being imported on WPM. Key words: invasive species, commodity treatment, Cerambycidae, Scolytinae Stichwörter: invasive Arten, Warenbehandlung, Cerambycidae, Scolytinae
