Russia’s vet watchdog briefing exporters on China's new requirements
From 1st January 2022, the Russian seafood producers will be subject to new requirements of the General Customs Administration of the People's Republic of China on the import of food products, fish and seafood inclusive, reports Megafishnet.com.
According to Russia’s vet watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, no additional certification for existing approved fish and seafood exporters will be required before expiration of a five-year period, but on expiration the requirements of the document will apply to them as well.
The novelties are introduced by the Order of the General Customs Administration of the People's Republic of China No. 248 "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the management of registration of foreign enterprises for the production of imported food products" which enters into force on January 1, 2022.
In this regard, Rosselkhoznadzor has drawn attention to the need to certify non-approved Russian enterprises that produce such products in the Register of Exporters of IS "Cerberus" information system in order to form a list of companies interested in exporting to China. The list will be later sent to the General Customs Administration of the People's Republic of China for certification.
The new regulation also states that the registration license will be issued to enterprises for five years, with the need for renewal three to six months before the expiration of the registration period. Otherwise, the license will be revoked.
According to Rosselkhoznadzor, the new requirements of the People's Republic of China regulate the procedure for certification of those enterprises that are interested in exporting to the country, but do not have the necessary accreditation. Companies that already export food products to China are accredited.
Meanwhile, re-examination of the approved Russian fish processing enterprises and vessels is being carried out at the request of the Chinese in the wake of China's stricter measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This work is not related to the above order, the vets explained.
As per late May, the dossiers of 446 Russian enterprises/vessels have been sent to China with Rosselkhoznadzor planning to complete this work as soon as possible.
At the same time, in the future, the order No. 248 will also apply to already listed enterprises and vessels. This means that every five years it will be necessary to provide documents for the re-certification of these facilities to preserve the right to supply to China. In addition, random inspections of the facilities by Chinese specialists will be carried out.
Rosselkhoznadzor also says it will approach the Chinese counterpart in order to clarify from what point the five-year period will be counted: from the moment of adoption of the regulation or the actual listing of the enterprise/vessel.