A total of 1,608 Myanmar food pro­cessing companies and factories have submitted over 3,253 applications to the General Administration of Cus­toms of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) so far, according to the Myan­mar Trade Promotion Organization’s GACC office team.

 

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, ex­ceptional 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.

 

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 earlier.

 

Between 1 December 2021 and 2 September 2024, 3,253 applications by 1,608 factories have been forwarded to the GACC through the Agriculture De­partment (3,092 applications), the Fish­eries Department (138), the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (14) and the Food and Drug Adminis­tration Department (nine).

 

Regarding the registration of the importing companies, the Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine under the GACC will check quarantine access for the following imported grains (raw coffee beans, cocoa beans, fresh and dehydrated vegetables, spices, edible grain, dried beans and pulses, oil crops and herbal animal products and plant to be used in Chinese traditional medicine for their origins.

 

Companies cannot manually 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.

 

As of 22 August 2024, a total of 1,056 applications have been successful in registering with the GACC with the approval of the competent authority. Additionally, a manual registration list of overseas manufacturers of imported foods with the GACC as of 27 July 2024 has been uploaded on http://dzs.cus­toms.gov.cn/. Individuals can enquire further information through the con­tact numbers of the Myanmar Trade Promotion Organization: 067 3408605, 067 3408617 and email: myantrade.do­[email protected]. — NN/KK