1. The additional regime
Agricultural products face sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, which are the most country-specific and product-specific requirements in international trade.
2. The ordinary set
Commercial invoice.
Packing list, with weights and package counts.
Bill of lading.
Certificate of origin.
3. The phytosanitary certificate
Required for plant products and plant-derived products that could carry pests or diseases.
Issued by the Chinese customs authority responsible for animal and plant quarantine.
The certificate’s form and content are agreed bilaterally with the destination, and they are specific.
A phytosanitary certificate for one destination cannot be adapted for another.
4. The sanitary certificate
For animal products and food of animal origin.
Issued by the same authority, in the form agreed with the destination.
5. The market access question
Agricultural products cannot be exported to most destinations unless the destination has granted market access for the product and the establishment.
The sequence:
The destination authorises the product category from China.
The destination approves the establishment, often after an inspection.
The consignment documents reference the establishment’s approval number.
Without market access, no certificate is issued and the shipment cannot proceed.
This is the binding constraint for agricultural exports, and it is a government-to-government matter that the exporter cannot resolve.
6. The establishment registration
Where market access exists, the exporting establishment must be registered with Chinese customs and, where the destination requires, approved by the destination authority.
The registration number appears on the certificates and on the invoice.
7. The fumigation and treatment
Some destinations require specified treatment before export:
Hot water treatment for certain fruits.
Methyl bromide fumigation for certain produce.
Cold treatment in transit.
The treatment certificate or the documentary evidence of treatment is part of the document set.
8. The residue and contaminant documentation
Maximum residue limits for pesticides.
Heavy metal limits.
Mycotoxin limits for grains and nuts.
The destination may require testing certification, and it may test on arrival.
Where the destination tests and finds a residue above its limit, the consignment is rejected or destroyed, and the establishment’s record is affected.
9. The quota and tariff-rate quota question
Many destinations apply tariff-rate quotas to agricultural products.
The documents: the quota certificate, and the certificate of origin where a preferential rate is claimed.
Within the quota, a lower rate applies; over the quota, a higher rate.
10. Common errors
No market access for the product
The certificate cannot be issued.
Phytosanitary certificate in the wrong form
The form is bilateral and product-specific.
Establishment not registered
Refused.
No treatment certification where required
Refused.
Residue exceeds the destination’s limit
Rejected and the establishment’s record affected.
11. Closing view
Agricultural exports are governed by arrangements between governments, and the exporter’s documents are the evidence that a consignment complies with an arrangement that already exists.
Where the arrangement does not exist, no document can create it.
*This article is based on Chinese animal and plant quarantine procedures and destination sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. Exporters should confirm market access status with the competent authorities.*