The food import and export market in China is continuously growing with New Zealand as the most prominent exporter of food goods to China with $8.18 billion, followed by Australia ($7.7 billion) and thirdly, Thailand ($5.98 billion) with meat, fish and dairy products ranked as the three highest food-based imports, meat-based products are the highest, accumulating around $18.89 billion.

From January 1st 2022, all overseas food producing, processing and storage companies must comply with the new registration regulations at the General Administration of Customs in China (GACC) in regards to exporting food products to China.

Until the end of 2021, it was only producers of higher risk food products who had to register their manufacturers with GACC (with the approval/recommendation of their local authorities), however this new regulation extends the requirement to all manufacturers. From January, 2022 foreign companies who export food to China will have to go through two different procedures; high-risk food producers will have to register with China Customs via foreign authorities and other food producers will have to submit registration applications directly to Chinese Customs, without a third-party. Therefore, it is vital that food exporters fully understand this new regulation.

Interested to hear more? HQTS’s in-depth free guide for Exporting Food to China Under the New 2022 Customs Regulations covers the latest regulation updates, labelling requirements and tips for your export business.