Local food exporters urged to register in China

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino food exporters and manufacturers are urged to comply with registration requirements in China to take advantage of growing demand there.

The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), in a statement, said that China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) is implementing two additional regulations covering food imports of that country in compliance with its Food Safety Law.

AQSIQ Public Notice 55, mandates that all firms that ship food to China are required to register through an online filing and management system starting Oct. 1, 2012.

Citing the report of the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre (PTIC) in Beijing, the Philexport said that as of March 8, a total of 160 online registrations have been made from the Philippines, lower than those of other countries in the Southeast Asian Region.

Malaysia has 841 registrations while Thailand has 778 and Vietnam has 536.

Online registrations from the Philippines are also below Singapore’s 468 and Indonesia’s 400.

Another regulation covering food imports being implemented by China is AQSIQ Decree 145 which will take effect on April 30 of this year.

Under AQSIQ Decree 145, the Certification and Accreditation Administration will only accept registration or accreditation of food exporters to the country if they have clearance from competent authorities in their respective home countries such as the Food and Drug Administration, Bureau of Plant Industry and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

The applicant will also have to meet sanitary conditions and other standards set by the Chinese government on food safety for the registration to be approved.

PTIC-Beijing commercial officer Christine dela Cruz said the regulations should not scare Filipino exporters.

“It is for compliance and traceability purposes that China is implementing these. (This is) also due to food safety issues and China’s bid to become not only the largest net importer of food but exporter too. It is logical that they shape up their food industry,” she said.

China is likely to increase its food imports as its domestic food production capability decreases amid expanding industrialization.

“With that reality in mind, our food exporters ought to keep China in their radar screen as a major market,” Dela Cruz said.