Regarding the Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Aquaculture Products from Singapore to China

According to the regulations of China Customs and Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability and Environment on the inspection and quarantine requirements for Singapore's farmed aquatic products exported to China, from now on, Singapore's farmed aquatic products that meet the following relevant requirements are allowed to be imported:

 

I. Inspection and quarantine basis

(I) "China's Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine Law" and its implementing regulations, "China's Import and Export Commodity Inspection Law" and its implementing regulations, "China's Food Safety Law" and its implementing regulations;

(II) "China's Import and Export Food Safety Management Measures" and "China's Import and Export Food Overseas Production Enterprise Registration Management Regulations";

(III) "China General Administration of Customs and Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability and Environment on the Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Singapore's Farmed Aquatic Products Exported to China Protocol".

 

II. Scope of imported products

Farmed aquatic products refer to artificially cultivated aquatic animal products and their products, algae and other marine plant products and their products for human consumption, excluding species listed in the appendix of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the list of China's key protected wild animals, live aquatic animals and aquatic animal and plant propagation materials. See the attachment for the catalog of Singapore's farmed aquatic products exported to China.

 

III. Requirements for production enterprises

Production and processing enterprises and farms that export farmed aquatic products to China shall be approved by and effectively supervised by the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore. The food safety and sanitation conditions of production and processing enterprises shall comply with the requirements of relevant food safety laws and regulations of China and Singapore.

According to the "Food Safety Law of China" and its implementing regulations and the "Law of China on Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine" and its implementing regulations, production and processing enterprises that export farmed aquatic products to China shall be recommended by the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore to the Chinese Customs for registration. Without registration, they shall not be exported to China.

 

IV. Requirements for imported products

The Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore shall ensure that farmed aquatic products exported to China meet the following conditions:

(i) Farmed in its own waters.

(ii) The raw materials and products do not have the following situations:

1. Aquatic animal diseases listed in the "List of Animal Quarantine Diseases Entering China" or required to be reported by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) related to the "Protocol" products have occurred in Singapore, causing farmed aquatic products exported to China to be or may be infected.

2. Any major food safety incidents in Singapore have affected or may affect the safety of farmed aquatic products exported to China.

3. Farmed aquatic products exported or to be exported from Singapore to China have seriously violated Chinese laws and regulations and the provisions of the Protocol.

4. Any major public health incidents in any production and processing enterprise in Singapore, such as employees infected with major infectious diseases such as the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) announced by the World Health Organization, have contaminated or may contaminate farmed aquatic products exported to China and their packaging and transportation vehicles.

5. The breeding area is affected by pollutants, such as radioactive pollutants, which have contaminated or may contaminate farmed aquatic products exported to China.

(III) No drugs or additives prohibited by both parties are used directly or indirectly (such as adding to feed), and drugs or additives restricted or permitted by both parties are used in accordance with regulations; after inspection by the competent authorities, no pathogenic microorganisms, toxic and harmful substances and foreign matter listed in the laws and regulations of China and Singapore are found.

(IV) All farmed aquatic products exported to China are safe, hygienic and suitable for human consumption after inspection and quarantine by the competent authorities. No pathological signs of infectious and parasitic diseases have been found, and no aquatic animal diseases listed in the Disease List and required to be reported by WOAH have been found.

(V) The entire process of breeding, production and processing, packaging, storage, transportation, transit and export shall comply with the relevant safety and health requirements and traceability requirements of both parties, and also meet the relevant safety and health requirements of the cold chain.

 

V. Certificate requirements

Each batch of farmed aquatic products exported by Singapore to China shall be accompanied by an original health certificate to prove that the batch of products complies with the relevant laws and regulations on food safety of China and Singapore and the relevant provisions of the Protocol. The Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore shall fully fill in the information of the production and processing enterprises involved in the entire process of breeding, production and processing, packaging, storage, transportation, transit and export on the health certificate, including the name and registration number of the farm, processing plant and independent cold storage.

The certificate shall be printed in Chinese and English (English is the required language when filling in the certificate). The format and content of the certificate shall be agreed upon by both parties in advance. The Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore shall promptly submit the certificate sample, official issuing agency seal and signing official handwriting to China Customs for record. If there are any changes in the content and format of the certificate sample, official issuing agency seal and signing official handwriting, the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment of Singapore shall file with China Customs at least one month before the certificate takes effect.

 

VI. Packaging and labeling requirements

Aquatic products exported to China should have outer packaging and separate inner packaging. The inner and outer packaging should be new materials that meet China's food safety standards and meet the requirements of preventing contamination by external factors.

The inner and outer packaging should have firm, clear and easily identifiable Chinese and English labels, indicating the following: product name and scientific name, specifications, production date, batch number, shelf life and storage conditions, production method (farming), production area (country or region where the aquaculture product is located), all production and processing enterprises involved (including independent cold storage) name, registration number and address (specific to state/province/city), destination (must be marked as the People's Republic of China).

For aquatic products exported to China in pre-packaged form, the pre-packaged Chinese label should comply with China's import pre-packaged food labeling requirements.

 

VII. Other requirements

China Customs will implement inspection and quarantine on farmed aquatic products imported into China.

For substandard products, they will be returned, destroyed or otherwise handled in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations. For production enterprises with serious problems or repeated substandard problems, China Customs will take measures such as strengthening inspection and quarantine or suspending imports.

 

GACC

Dec. 10, 2024

 

Aquaculture Products Exported From Singapore To China

 

NO.	English name	Latin name	Outline	Order	Division	Genus	Kind	Production method (wild or farmed)	Processing method	Living waters (Sea water or fresh water)
1	Four-finger Threadfin	Four-finger threadfin ( Eleutheronema tetradactylum )	Osteichthyes	Perciformes	Polynemidae	Eleutheronema	Four-finger threadfin	Farming	Chilled, Frozen	seawater
2	Red Snapper	Redfin snapper ( Lutjanus erythropterus )	Osteichthyes	Perciformes​​	Lutjanidae	Lutjanus (Lutjanus)	Redfin snapper	Farming	Chilled, Frozen	seawater
3	Golden Snapper	Black-spotted snapper ( Lutjanus johnii )	Osteichthyes	Perciformes	Lutjanidae	Lutjanus (Lutjanus)	Black-spotted snapper	Farming	Chilled, Frozen	seawater
4	Pompano	Brandt's Pomfret ( Trachinotus blochii )	Osteichthyes	Perciformes	Carangidae	Trachinotus	Brandt's Pomfret	Farming	Chilled, Frozen	seawater
5	Golden Trevally	Oriole Toothless Scad ( Gnathanodon speciosus )	Osteichthyes	Perciformes	Carangidae (Carangidae)	Gnathanodon	Oriole Toothless Scad	Farming	Chilled, Frozen	seawater
6	Asian Seabass / Barramundi	Barramundi ( Lates calcarifer )	Osteichthyes	Perciformes	Latidae	Barramundi (Lates)	Barramundi	Farming	Chilled, Frozen	seawater