People regularly ask me if it’s possible to take flaxworks into other countries and the short answer is ‘yes’, although I recommend that flaxworks are declared as you go through customs.

Countries such as Australia, the USA and Canada have strict conditions about the importation of certain types of plant materials as they may carry pests and diseases which could cause huge damage to their agricultural or horticultural industries. Countries in older parts of the world like Europe, Scandinavia and Asia are not so particular but if in doubt, do declare the flaxworks.

As Australia is one of the countries people often want to take flaxworks to, I contacted AQIS, Australia’s plant quarantine unit to clarify the situation. I asked them these questions:

Can you tell me please what I need to do to either bring or send these items into Australia: 1/ items made from NZ flax (phormium tenax) where the flax has been scraped and woven and they are now dried. 2/ Green NZ flax leaves that have been cut off the plant with no other preparation.

This is the reply I received. (The flax fibre in the second link refers to both Phormium Tenax and the European linen flax Linum Usitatissimum):

Thank you for your email regarding the importation of dried and green NZ flax into Australia. Both the dried articles and the green leaves of NZ Flax are permitted entry into Australia without an import permit. You will need to declare these items on arrival so a Quarantine Officer can inspect them to confirm freedom of live insects, snails, soil, weed seeds and disease symptoms.

You will need to provide some sort of documentary evidence to confirm the identification of the plant material as Phormium tenax – NZ Flax. If these are not commercial items you could package the items and hand label them yourself.

Please refer to the following 2 cases on our Import Conditions Database for reference:
Phormium spp. - New Zealand flax leaves only for cut flowers, fresh
Flax fibre

Import conditions database: www.aqis.gov.au/icon
Import permit application: www.aqis.gov.au/importapp

The USA also has strict laws. The USA customs website states that:

Every single plant or plant product including handicraft items made with straw, must be declared to the CBP officer and must be presented for CBP inspection, no matter how free of pests it appears to be.

Again, it is important to declare the items. I have anecdotal evidence from people who’ve declared flaxworks through the USA customs that they’ve not had any problems.

I’d be interested to hear of your experiences of taking flaxworks into other countries.