Exports of Fishery Products to China
Exports to China require some registration steps prior to applying for the specific Chinese health certificates and the Chinese certificate of origin. The registration steps can take some time to complete, the details of which are as follows:
There are two separate processes, one for processed fishery products, one for live aquatic animals, and depending on which products the exporter wishes to export they will need to complete either one of these processes or both of them in parallel to be registered for export of all products.
If you are interested in registering for exports to China you should contact SFPATradeandAudit@sfpa.ie and we can guide you through the process.
The two registration procedures to be carried out for exporters to China are as follows:
Registering for Exports of Processed Fishery Products
Process for Irish exporters of processed products is to submit application and all the relevant supporting documentation through the China Import Food Enterprise Registration (CIFER) portal.
The link to the new registration system (CIFER) is the following https://cifer.singlewindow.cn
The current process for an Irish Food Business Operator (FBO) to register as an approved exporter to China is as follows:
- FBO should create an account by following the above link and clicking ‘create an account’.
- FBO should apply for registration by logging in to the registration system using the username and password provided when creating their account.
- The FBO will have to fill in the information requested by the system. A step-by-step guide has been provided by the Chinese authorities and can be found here.
- Once all information has been inputted, the FBO should click ‘Submit’. This sends the application to the SFPA for review.
- After reviewing the information submitted by the FBO, if all is present and correct, the SFPA will send the application to GACC for approval.
- GACC will accept applications which have submitted all of the necessary documentation. Otherwise, GACC will request additional information or reject applications containing false information (the SFPA will be notified of this by GACC)
- GACC will carry out an audit of the FBO applying for registration. This audit may take the form of a paper audit, video audit or on-site audit
- GACC will evaluate the report of the audit and decide whether the registration should be approved or not.
- GACC will notify the SFPA of their decision, the SFPA will in turn notify the applying FBO of the outcome.
The Chinese authorities have also introduced a requirement that registrations of exporters to China need to be renewed every 5 years
Updated list of GACC Registered Establishments
The exporter then separately needs to ensure their details are registered on http://ire.customs.gov.cn/ for customs purposes.
Registration of Live Aquatic Animal Exporters
A list of approved live aquatic animal exporters is maintained by GACC in China.
The process for Irish exporters of live aquatic animals to be registered with the Chinese authorities is in the first instance to contact SFPA Trade Compliance and Internal Audit Unit (SFPATradeandAudit@sfpa.ie). We will provide a letter recommending registration and updated Live Aquatic Animals List to DFA Beijing who will then communicate this to GACC. As part of this process GACC are entitled to ask for supporting documentation from the exporter. Additional testing requirements apply for exports of live and processed crab. CIFER Registration is not required for live aquatic animals.
General Certification for China
Exports to China require the use of either one of the following two Chinese health certificates depending on the export product:
- Chinese Health Certificate for Fish and Fishery Products
- Chinese Health Certificate for Live Aquatic Animals
Fish and fishery products: include all species of fish, crustaceans and other forms of marine life (not including live fish, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms) and any parts or products thereof.
Live aquatic animals: Live fish, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms.
Mixtures of aquacultured and wild fishery products
This requirement applies in cases where a Chinese health certificate is required for a consignment containing a mixture of both aquacultured and wild caught fishery products. (For example, it could include both smoked salmon products and cooked crab products)
In these cases the Chinese authorities have requested that separate relevant Chinese health certificates be issued for the one consignment as follows:
- Health certificate to certify the aquacultured part of the consignment
- Health certificate to certify the wild caught part of the consignment
Approved products for export to China
The Chinese Authorities maintain a system whereby only products on their approved lists can be exported to the People’s Republic of China. The current version of this list can be found here.
Approved products for export to China
The format of the name for the following fishery products set out below should be the only format used in any Chinese health certificates covering these exports:
冻方鲷 Boarfish
冻生海螺 (带壳） Frozen raw whelk (with shell)
北蛾螺（熟冻） Frozen cooked whelk
For any enquiries regarding exports to China, please email SFPATradeandAudit@sfpa.ie