China requires official letters for 20 groups of agricultural imports

China requires official letters for 20 groups of agricultural imports

China has announced that 2,589 agricultural products across 20 product groups imported into the country must be accompanied by an official letter from a competent authority and enterprise registration documentation.

A farmer inspects durian before shipments go out in Đồng Nai Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

 According to the Việt Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Việt Nam) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has started requesting official letters for 20 groups of agricultural imports to China.

According to the announcement, there are 2,589 products subject to the new requirements, including aquatic products, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, spices, medicinal herbs, coffee, nuts, plant varieties, cereals, tobacco leaves, animal feed and products of animal origin.

The list was developed based on quarantine risk assessment results for imported agricultural products and in line with international practices. China has also specified public search mechanisms to facilitate enterprises in accessing information and carrying out customs declarations.

China has also clarified the channel for checking information on registered foreign enterprises. The official website will uniformly publish information on registered enterprises and provide detailed search instructions to facilitate business use.

For agricultural products on the list requiring an official recommendation letter, importers are responsible for fully and accurately declaring the Chinese registration number or the registration number of the foreign enterprise in China in the information box of the certificate titled Registration of Foreign Enterprises Producing, Processing and Storing Imported Animals, Plants and Their Products under the Goods Qualification Information section of the customs declaration or registration list.

If a customs declaration includes multiple items, enterprises must separately declare the corresponding Chinese registration number for each enterprise and each item.

SPS Việt Nam has requested governmental agencies to provide detailed guidance to enterprises under their respective management areas in accordance with regulations. The new requirements took effect from December 15, 2025. 

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