A total of 1,574 Myanmar food processing companies and factories submitted over 3,160 applications to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) over the past two and half years, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
According to GACC Decree 248 and 249, GACC registration is mandatory for food exporters starting from 1 January 2022.
Those individuals executing edible oil, oilseeds, stuffed pastry products, edible bird’s nest and related products, edible grains, grains milling industrial products and malt, fresh and dehydrated vegetables, dried beans, plant species, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, unroasted coffee and cocoa bean, special dietary food excluding milk-based formula, functional foods, bee products, aquatic products including farm products, animal products and animal feed and livestock animal businesses need to apply for GACC license in order to place their goods in China’s market.
The relevant authorities for the registration with GACC are the Agriculture Department, the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, the Fisheries Department and the Food and Drug Administration.
Between 1 December 2021 and 28 June 2024, 3,161 applications by 1,574 factories have been forwarded to the GACC through the Agriculture Department (3,004 applications), the Fisheries Department (134), the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (14) and the Food and Drug Administration Department (nine).
Exporters can directly access China International Trade Single Window through https://cifer.singlewindow.cn by creating accounts for those food groups that are not listed in the 18 groups mentioned above.
As of 28 June 2024, a total of 1,050 applications have been successful in registering with the GACC with the approval of the competent authority.
Regarding the registration of the importing companies, the Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine under the GACC will check quarantine access for the imported grains (raw coffee beans, cocoa beans, vegetables, spices, edible grains, pulses, oil crops and herbal animal products and plant for their origins.
Companies cannot directly proceed with registration, and they need to carry out this step through competent authorities and departments concerned by sending an email to dapq@ customs.gov.cn or submitting a letter to the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar or the Myanmar Embassy in China. — NN/KK
