Food exporters urged to enhance food safety, traceability to meet China’s new rules

Food exporters urged to enhance food safety, traceability to meet China’s new rules

The revised regulations are designed to ensure the safety of imported food and improve traceability, urging exporters and industry associations to study and comply with the new requirements.

Fruit processed for export at Chánh Thu plant in Vĩnh Long Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Phúc Hậu

Việt Nam’s food exporters to China will face updated registration requirements under new regulations issued by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC), with businesses required to ensure the accuracy of registration information and comply with stricter food safety and traceability controls.

According to a recent notice by the National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (National SPS Office), the GACC Announcement No. 150 of 2026 revises regulations on the registration of food importers and exporters, applies to overseas businesses exporting food to China and their agents, as well as domestic food importers in China.

Under the new rules, overseas exporters and agents covered by the regulations must register with GACC and take responsibility for the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of the information they provide.

The revised registration form has been simplified, reducing the number of information fields from 20 to 10.

Applications, requests to amend registration details and cancellation requests can be submitted online through China's International Trade Single Window or the customs public service portal at the address: http://credit.customs.gov.cn/.

Chinese customs authorities will complete registration procedures within three working days of receiving a complete application and supporting documents. If an application fails to meet requirements, customs authorities must notify the applicant within the same three-working-day period.

Registered businesses must notify the competent customs authorities of changes to their registration information within 60 days of the changes occurring.

Ngô Xuân Nam, deputy director of the National SPS Office, said the streamlined application form and shorter processing time will facilitate registration for overseas businesses.

However, he stressed that the revised regulations are designed to ensure the safety of imported food and improve traceability, urging exporters and industry associations to study and comply with the new requirements.

Chinese customs authorities retain the right to conduct on-site inspections, verify submitted information and carry out cross-checks at border clearance points.

Businesses found to have provided false or inaccurate information, or declarations inconsistent with actual conditions, may be required to make corrections or face cancellation of their registration.

The National SPS Office has urged relevant agencies and industry associations to inform businesses of the changes so they can prepare and maintain compliance when exporting food to the Chinese market.

China remained Việt Nam’s largest export market for agro-forestry-fishery products in the first nine months of 2026, accounting for 24.4 per cent of the country's total export value. 

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