Foreign companies fear new law to import food into China

Bringing wine, chocolate or coffee to China may be even more difficult starting Saturday, with new import rules hampering international companies from placing food and beverages on the world’s largest market.

Chinese consumers consumed $ 108 billion of imported products in 2020, a number expected to rise in 2021 given the 30% year-on-year increase in the first three quarters of this year.

But under new laws to be implemented on January 1, all food producers exported to China will have to register with the customs authority, a new barrier for international companies that often complain of unfair treatment.

Before, this requirement was only necessary for products with potential health risks, such as shellfish. But coffee, alcohol, honey, olive oil, chocolate and other foods will also be watched now.

On New Year’s Day, “the import curtain will close,” said Alban Renaud, a lawyer based in China with the Adaltys cabinet.

But there are many unknowns: “Will there be a margin of tolerance? What will happen to applications in process but not yet approved? And with those who have requested it too late? ”He wonders.

A businessman involved in imports explained that certification is needed because, “otherwise, the goods will arrive at the port and fines will have to be paid.”

Businesses without completed paperwork can be exposed to customs withholding, he warned.

Importers complain that the details of the new applications were published late and that the website to register them only went online a month ago. Also, the information was not available in English.

Some companies received the wrong country code, such as a Portuguese importer who was registered as Spanish, noted a diplomat in Beijing.

“Still waiting”

Food and import companies have already been exposed to control measures included in China’s strict anti-COVID protocol, which has linked the virus to food since an outbreak in Beijing in 2020 was attributed to imported salmon.

Products entering the Asian giant are subject to greater inspection and repeated disinfection. Some are prohibited if a COVID-19 outbreak is detected in the place where they have been packaged abroad.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has ensured that the chances of spreading COVID-19 through food are slim.

Days before the new requirements came into force, “many companies were still waiting to obtain their authorization,” said the European Union (EU) Chamber of Commerce in Beijing.

This entity “urged the Chinese authorities to grant these authorizations in time to allow all qualified companies a smooth transition without suffering disturbances in their food imports.”

The EU formally asked Beijing to delay the measure for 18 months, but was unsuccessful.

If these problems are not cleared up soon, the flow of food imports into China could suffer within a month, said a diplomat in Beijing.

China’s customs department did not respond to AFP’s requests on this matter.

“The first products to arrive in China from exporting countries on January 1 will come from Korea and Japan,” another diplomat commented. “So it will be our friends who have the privilege of testing the thickness of the wall,” he ironically.