According to the National food safety standards - Honey (GB 14963-2011), honey is defined as “a natural sweet substance produced through fully brewing when the nectar, secretion and sweet deposits from plants are gathered, mixed with the secretion of their own, modified and stored in the honeycomb by honey bees”. This guide outlines the key steps to export it in compliance with regulations.
I. Required Qualifications for Export Enterprises
(I) Registering as an Export Food Producer
To begin the export process, honey producers must first register with the Customs authorities at their place of business. This is done by submitting the required information through the China International Trade Single Window or the integrated online service platform of Custom. The submitted application is then reviewed by Customs authority via the "Customs' Unified ManagementSubsystem for Administrative Counterparts (Version 3.0)". Upon verification that all materials are complete and comply with statutory requirements, the producer will be registered and issued an Export Food Producer Registration Certificate, which is valid indefinitely.
(II) Export Food Producers: Applying for Overseas Registration
When an importing country or region mandates registration for Chinese honey producers seeking to export their goods and requires a formal recommendation from China's General Administration of Customs, the producers must apply for this recommendation through the Customs authorities at their place of business. Once submitted, the application is processed by Customs through the "Customs' Unified Management Subsystem for Administrative Counterparts (Version 3.0)". Upon receipt of the application, the competent department of the directly affiliated Customs authority will organize and conduct a review. This review takes into account the enterprise’s credit standing, its oversight and management history, and its food safety performance in export operations. Enterprises that meet all criteria are then submitted by the local Customs department to the General Administration of Customs. The General Administration of Customs will then recommend these enterprises to the competent authority of the importing country or region through established official channels.
Following a successful recommendation, a honey producer may export its products only after both the enterprise and its products have received formal registration approval from the competent authority in the importing country or region. The final and authoritative registration details are as published by that authority.
(III) Registering Apiaries and Beekeeping Cooperatives as Approved Raw Material Suppliers
Apiaries or beekeeping cooperatives that supply honey for export must be registered with the Customs authorityat their place of business.
To initiate this process, the export honey producer must submit an application on behalf of the apiary or cooperativeto the its local subordinate Customs authority. This application is submitted through the China International Trade Single Window or the integrated online service platform of Custom. It is then reviewed by the Customs authority at the producer's place of business. Once Customs verifies that all submitted materials meet the statutory requirements, the apiary or cooperative will be officially registered.
The General Administration of Customspublishes and maintains a unified list of all registered apiaries and cooperatives approved as raw material suppliers for export honey.
II. Applying for the Electronic Ledger
Honey producers seeking to export their goods or honey exporters must, as required, apply to the Customs authoritiesat the place of production or the consolidation point for pre-export supervision by submitting all required documentation in electronic form and formally declaring that they hold the relevant records. Required documents include, but are not limited to, commercial contracts, invoices, packing lists, and factory inspection reports.
III. Undergoing On-site Inspection and Samplingat the Point of Declaration or Consolidation
Once Customs accepts the abovementioned application, its risk management system automatically generates targeting orders foron-site inspection, laboratory testing, or both, based on pre-defined batch-sampling rules. These orders randomly designate specific export honey shipments for examination. The designated localsubordinate Customs authority then carries out the mandated on-site inspection and collects samples for laboratory analysis on the shipments targeted by such targeting orders.
IV. Submitting the Export Declaration
Once the honey intended for exporthas cleared the final Customs review, the exporter or its authorized agent must formally submit the export declaration to Customs in compliance with the Provisions of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Administration of Declarations for the Import and Export of Goods.
V. Undergoing Port Inspection
After processing the export declaration for honey, Customs will carry out random inspections on the honey shipments at the port under the applicable targeting orders. These inspections involve verifying the consistency of details such as the product names, shipping marks, labels, batch numbers, quantity, and specifications against the transport packaging markings; checking for expiration dates and packaging integrity; and conducting any specific checks that explicit regulations may require.
VI. Obtaining Customs Clearance and Release
Shipments that pass the port inspection are approved for Customs clearance and release.
(By Xiang Yu, Zhu Xu, and Tong Tian)
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of China Inspection and Quarantine Times. The China Inspection and Quarantine Times version shall prevail.
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