Requirements for exporting seafood to China

illustration image. Photo: Nguyễn Thanh

China tends to import goods which fully pay tax

According to the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine of China-AQSIQ (now the General Department of China Customs), exported seafood to China must meet some requirements such as: seafood must be produced at preliminary treatment and processing establishments that were in the list of allowing exporting seafood to China.

Particularly, for the establishments collecting and packaging fresh giant tiger shrimp and white-leg shrimp, they must ensure that shrimp were gathered from the farms which were in the list of allowing exporting seafood to China granting by Chinese authorities. Besides that, packaging and labeling must have sufficient information for traceability with food safety certificates issued by Vietnamese authorities.

Regarding a number of regulations on importing seafood from China, the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority said that by the end of 2018, China tends to import Vietnam seafood which fully pay tax. Therefore, China requested seafood exported to this country (including pay full tax) must comply with the Cooperation Agreements between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the General Department of China Customs.

Accordingly, the seafood shipments imported into China must be produced by enterprises which were in the list of allowing exporting seafood to China (there were 680 facilities, updated on January 24, 2019), with clear information of origin on the label and attached with a certificate issued by a Vietnamese authorities. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development continued to request the General Department of China Customs to update more than 60 enterprises/establishments that were eligible for exporting to the Chinese market.

Regarding the list of products allowed to export which were fully paid tax, according to the list on the website of the General Department of China Customs, there were 128 species/types of Vietnamese seafood products allowed to be exported to China.

The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sent documents to China for consideration and supplementation of a number of species such as: mud crab, lobster and sentinel crab; supplementing some types of products such as frozen giant tiger shrimp and white-leg shrimp, as well as suggesting to have instruction for completing the registration procedures in order to add new products such as tilapia, salmon, sailfish and mackerel into the list of allowing exports to China.

Standards for packaging and labels

The regulations on packaging and labeling were also important factors in the Chinese regulations of importing seafood. Specifically, the packaging should be firmly packed, homogeneously with the same color and size. Currently, the types of packaging for each ordinary commodity were guided by Chinese authorities as follows:

Ice-chilled aquatic products: styrofoam box, which are allowed to be covered with scotch tape for reinforcing but it not cover the label; the position of printing labels on barrel lid or sides of box was allowed but it must be agreed to print in one position, neatly, clearly and easy to read; it must be printed before packaging.

For frozen products, the packaging was a carton and product was packed by plastic bag before being put into the box.

For fresh products, it must be put in plastic trays (crabs) and styrofoam box (for lobster) or other materials to suit the living conditions of seafoods.

Regarding the label printed on the package, it must be agreed to print in one position for a type of goods and must be printed before packing the goods. Labels of each type of goods must show all scientific names, common names and other parameters as prescribed, printed on the barrel lid and sides of the box were allowed; in particular, the production date and shipment numbers were allowed to be stamped after printing in order to match with the production date; the shipment numbers must be clear and not blurred; the number must be stamped neatly and the same size; it was not labeled in any form; labels must be printed neatly, letters must not be blurred and easy to read; it must be printed before packing the product. For fresh goods, it must be preserved and stored in a plastic tray. The labels must be printed on plastic film of the tray.

In terms of quality and biochemical indicators, enterprises exporting seafood to China should pay attention to biochemical and quality criteria which need to be implemented in accordance with quarantine certificates as granted. However, in the clearance process, Chinese Customs would carry out quarantine in the post clearance audit stage.

In case of violating the regulations on quality standards and biochemical criteria, the Chinese side would send announcements to enterprises for correcting. If the subsequent shipments violated, it would be classified to the red channel or suspended from exports.