Walter Pall
Masterpiece
Since end of November 20o08 the bonsai world in Europe is not what it used to be anymore. Much to the envy of Americans we could import any number of most bonsai species into the European Union. Only a few conifers, like Japanese Black Pines were forbidden. But JBP are (much different then in America)are not at all popular in Europe anyway. Since a couple of weeks the following species are forbidden: ALL MAPLES, ELMS, HORNBEAMS, OAKS AND SOME MORE. This means that practically all popular species are out. It will be possible to import them only under very strict conditions. These are very similar to the ones that are present in America. Practically this means that import will stop altogether for at least two or more years. After that there will be small quantities available again.
The reason is that in at least two regions in Europe we have the infamous Chinese giant beetle which eats our local forests. It is an open secrete that these areas are very close to very large bonsai import companies. In the spring of 2008 a couple hundred thousand Japanese maples were sold over a cheap general store all over Europe. Many hundreds of the maples apparently had a beetle in them. This was too much for the EU officials and they acted much quicker than we are used.
So what does this mean? Well, it may well mean that the Europe bonsai scene has to concentrate much more on what we have here. This is good news for a few. The big importers, however will face very serious times. Some will be closed, I am afraid. Japanese trees will go up in price. Japanese exporters are already suffering from the rise of the yen. They are now more or less out of business. This will seriously impact bonsai business in Japan, China and Korea.
The reason is that in at least two regions in Europe we have the infamous Chinese giant beetle which eats our local forests. It is an open secrete that these areas are very close to very large bonsai import companies. In the spring of 2008 a couple hundred thousand Japanese maples were sold over a cheap general store all over Europe. Many hundreds of the maples apparently had a beetle in them. This was too much for the EU officials and they acted much quicker than we are used.
So what does this mean? Well, it may well mean that the Europe bonsai scene has to concentrate much more on what we have here. This is good news for a few. The big importers, however will face very serious times. Some will be closed, I am afraid. Japanese trees will go up in price. Japanese exporters are already suffering from the rise of the yen. They are now more or less out of business. This will seriously impact bonsai business in Japan, China and Korea.