China’s Food Industry: Understanding Restrictions and Specifications for Export to Arab Markets
China emerged as the world’s second-largest importer of food and beverage products after the United States in 2016, with imports exceeding 130 billion Australian dollars ($88.2 billion USD). By 2022, this figure rose to $110 billion USD. Step One: Complete Importer and Exporter Registration Foreign exporters typically adopt two methods to deliver goods to China: In both models, all foreign food and beverage exporters and importers must register through: Products Requiring Additional Registration: Some high-safety food products require additional registration, such as: Step Two: Prepare Documents and Prior Authorization Documents Required for Customs Clearance: Prior Import Authorization: Generally, food products entering China do not require prior import authorization. However, if the product is listed in the 2023 Automatic Import Licensing Commodity Catalog, such as poultry or dairy products, importers must apply for automatic import authorization. Step Three: Labeling Every food product imported into China must be labeled in simplified Chinese characters to complete customs clearance. Several rules determine labeling requirements for food and beverage layout and content in China: The label must provide the following information: Recent Regulatory Developments China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) issued measures for imported and exported food safety and food safety management systems on April 12, 2021. These regulations introduced important changes including: