Seed Potato Imports from the Netherlands: Pakistan's Rules Explained
Quick Answer
Yes. Pakistan imports more than 7,000 metric tons of seed potato from the Netherlands a year, around 95 percent of its seed potato shipments, under a growing-season inspection agreement between DPP and the Dutch NAK and BKD inspection services, plus the standard Form-I permit valid for 3 months.
| Annual volume | More than 7,000 metric tons of seed potato imported from the Netherlands per year |
|---|---|
| Import value | Around Euro 1 million per annum from the Netherlands |
| Netherlands market share | 95 percent of Pakistan's seed potato shipments, by Volza shipment count 2022 to 2023 |
| Inspection agreement | NAK and BKD certify growing-season and export inspections on behalf of DPP |
| Permit validity | DPP Form-I permit valid for 3 months, same as other seed imports |
Yes, Pakistan imports more than 7,000 metric tons of seed potato from the Netherlands every year, worth roughly Euro 1 million, making the Netherlands the dominant source of Pakistan's seed potato supply at close to 95 percent of shipments. The trade runs under a specific growing-season inspection agreement between Pakistan's Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and the Dutch inspection services NAK and BKD, on top of the standard Form-I import permit. This post covers the volumes, the inspection deal, and what changed in 2017.
How much seed potato does Pakistan bring in from the Netherlands?
Pakistan imports more than 7,000 metric tons of seed potato from the Netherlands per annum, valued at around Euro 1 million, according to a Press Information Department release on Pakistan-Netherlands agricultural cooperation. Volza's shipment tracking for 2022 to 2023 shows the Netherlands supplying 95 percent (149 shipments) of Pakistan's total seed potato imports, with China and France each holding about 1 percent, 2 shipments apiece.
That concentration matters for a buyer's risk planning: with one country supplying the overwhelming majority of seed potato, a delay or disruption in Dutch shipping or certification has an outsized effect on the whole national supply chain for this crop.
Why does the Netherlands dominate Pakistan's seed potato supply?
The relationship runs through a formal quality framework, not just commercial preference. Before 18 September 2017, DPP allowed seed potato imports from the Netherlands based on visual inspection alone. DPP then revised the conditions on scientific justification, in line with the Plant Quarantine Rules 1967, and harmonized the Dutch requirements with the conditions Pakistan already applied to the USA, India, Australia and China, per the same PID release.
Following an invitation from the Dutch side, a Pakistani delegation visited the Netherlands in July 2018 and inspected production sites, crop production, pest surveillance, the plant health system, research activities, and the quarantine inspection and testing system at the Netherlands' National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO). That visit underpinned the current agreement.
What does the NAK/BKD inspection agreement actually require?
Under the agreement between DPP and NPPO Netherlands, seed potato may be imported from the Netherlands only if it is inspected and certified by NAK and BKD during the growing season and again at the time of export, from registered farms. NAK, the Nederlandse Algemene Keuringsdienst, is the Dutch General Inspection Service for Agricultural Seed and Seed Potatoes and carries out both export and import inspections. BKD inspects flower bulbs and carries out field inspections for quality, import and export.
This growing-season certification is the mechanism that replaced the old visual-inspection standard. It also lines up with the wider phytosanitary rules Pakistan applies to potato: the crop must not have been grown near unhealthy potato crops, and pests such as Colorado potato beetle, golden nematode, black wart, silver scurf and powdery scab must not have been recorded within a 2-kilometer radius of the growing area in the preceding twelve months, per Pakistan's IPPC reporting on phytosanitary requirements. Only seed potato resistant to wart disease and meeting the National Seed Council's minimum seed certification standard is eligible for import, under Section 14 of the Plant Quarantine Rules 1967.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Inspecting bodies | NAK and BKD, on behalf of NPPO Netherlands |
| Timing of inspection | During growing season and at export, on registered farms |
| Pest-free radius | No listed pests or diseases within 2 km of growing area in past 12 months |
| Disease resistance | Wart-disease-resistant varieties only |
| Legal basis in Pakistan | Plant Quarantine Rules 1967, Section 14 |
| Standard permit | DPP Form-I, valid 3 months |
What paperwork does the importer still need at the Pakistan end?
The NAK/BKD certification sits on top of, not instead of, the standard Pakistani import chain. You still need the DPP import permit on Form-I, filed online through the Pakistan Single Window, valid for 3 months from issue, exactly as with any other seed import. Our DPP Form-1 permit guide and step-by-step seed import guide cover that base process in full; this post only adds the Netherlands-specific inspection layer on top.
Other crop-specific seed imports follow a similar pattern of a country-of-origin inspection layer sitting on top of the standard DPP permit. See our posts on hybrid vegetable seed import and hybrid maize seed import for how the equivalent checks work for those crops.
Because seed potato is bulky and time-sensitive, align the vessel booking with the permit window before you fix a shipping date. A shipment that clears customs after the Form-I permit has lapsed risks being held at quarantine pending resolution, the same risk that applies to any seed import running past its permit validity.
Is Pakistan trying to reduce its dependence on imported seed potato?
Yes, though the gap remains large for now. Only around 2 percent of Pakistan's seed potato requirement is met from domestic production, meaning roughly 98 percent is imported, and the country brings in an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 tons of potato seed annually from all origins combined, well beyond the Dutch volume alone, based on Pakistan-Korea project reporting summarized by PotatoPro. A five-year aeroponic seed-production collaboration between Pakistan's PARC and South Korea's KOPIA, launched in 2023, targets around 20 percent local self-sufficiency by 2027, down from an initial 30 percent goal as the potato-growing area has expanded.
For now, that leaves the Netherlands relationship, and the NAK/BKD certification chain behind it, as the backbone of Pakistan's seed potato supply.
Olympic Agencies has cleared agricultural cargo, seeds, fertilizer and agricultural machinery, at Karachi Port and Port Qasim since 1982. We handle the Form-I permit and consignment documentation for Dutch seed potato shipments under our seed import clearance service. Send us your shipment size and expected arrival window on WhatsApp and we will check your permit timing against the NAK/BKD certification on file.
Importing Dutch seed potato? Get your DPP Form-I permit and NAK/BKD documentation checked before the shipment departs Rotterdam.
WhatsApp us your shipment details →Frequently Asked Questions
How much seed potato does Pakistan import from the Netherlands?+
Pakistan imports more than 7,000 metric tons of seed potato from the Netherlands a year, worth around Euro 1 million, according to a Pakistan Press Information Department release on the two countries' cooperation. Volza shipment data for 2022 to 2023 puts the Netherlands' share of Pakistan's seed potato shipments at 95 percent, with China and France a distant second and third at 1 percent each.
Who inspects Dutch seed potato before it reaches Pakistan?+
NAK (the Dutch General Inspection Service for Agricultural Seed and Seed Potatoes) and BKD carry out growing-season and export inspections on registered Dutch farms, under an agreement between Pakistan's Department of Plant Protection and the Netherlands' National Plant Protection Organisation. Only seed potatoes inspected and certified this way by NAK and BKD are eligible for import.
Why did Pakistan change its seed potato inspection rules?+
Before 18 September 2017, DPP accepted seed potato from the Netherlands based on visual inspection alone. DPP then revised the import conditions on scientific grounds under the Plant Quarantine Rules 1967, aligning them with the conditions Pakistan already applied to the USA, India, Australia and China, and requiring growing-season inspection and certification instead.
Does Pakistan produce enough of its own seed potato?+
No. Only around 2 percent of Pakistan's seed potato requirement is met locally, so roughly 98 percent of seed demand is imported, and the country brings in an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 tons of potato seed annually from all sources. A Pakistan-Korea aeroponic seed potato project aims to lift local self-sufficiency to about 20 percent by 2027.
Olympic Agencies
Clearing agricultural cargo - seeds, fertilizers, and machinery - at Karachi Port and Port Qasim since 1982. Members of PIFFA and the Chamber of Commerce.
More on seed imports
- Importing Wheat Seed into Pakistan: FSC&RD, the Rust-Resistance Imperative, and Why Most Wheat Is Not Imported as Seed
- Importing Cotton Seed into Pakistan: the Variety Approval System and the Bollgard Ban
- Importing Sunflower Seed into Pakistan: the Oilseed Variety That Reduces Import Dependence
- Hybrid Maize Seed Import in Pakistan: Rules, Suppliers and the GM Ban
- Importing Hybrid Vegetable Seed into Pakistan: Tomato, Onion and Chili
- Rhodes Grass Seed Import and Cultivation in Pakistan: A Grower's Guide
- Can You Import GM Soybean and Canola into Pakistan? The Rules After the 2026 Biotech Policy
- How to Import Seeds into Pakistan — a Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
- Kharif and Rabi Import Planning — When Should Agri Importers Order, Ship, and Clear?
- Plant Quarantine Inspection at Karachi — What Happens and Why Consignments Get Held
- Seed Import Permit in Pakistan — the Complete DPP and Form-I Guide (2026)
- Our service: Seed Imports clearance →