Rising living standards in China have spurred a significant increase in pet ownership, leading many pet owners to explore overseas purchases of pet food in pursuit of more diverse dietary options for their animals.
However, products such as cat food, dog food, and fish feed often contain animal-derived ingredients, making them subject to stricter import controls than those applied to conventional food items.
I. Why Are Stricter Regulations Applied to Mailed Pet Food Imports?
Under Announcement No. 470jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) and the General Administration of Customs, titled the Catalogue of Animals and Plants, Animal and Plant Products, and Other Quarantine Objects Prohibited from Being Carried, Mailed, or Delivered into the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue), animal-derived feed is explicitly prohibited from entry via carry-on or postal channels. This prohibition extends to pet foods such as cat and dog food that contain -derived ingredients like beef or pork.
The majority of pet food products are derived from animal sources and contain ingredients such as meat and animal fats. Due to the diverse and often complex origins of these raw materials, non-quarantined pet food contained animal-derived ingredients poses a potential risk of transmitting animal diseases such as avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease, which could endanger both animal and public health.
II. Banned Pet Food: What You Cannot Mail
The Catalogue explicitly forbids the carrying or mailing of the following productsinto China:
(I) Meat (both raw and cooked), including offal and derived products.
(II) Aquatic animal products, with the exception of dried, cooked, or fermented edible sauces made from aquatic animals.
(III) Milk and dairy products of animal origin. This category encompasses raw milk, pasteurized milk, sterilized milk, modified milk, fermented milk, cream, butter, cheese, condensed milk, and similar items.
(IV) Eggs and egg-based products, including fresh eggs, century eggs, salted eggs, liquid egg, eggshells, mayonnaise, and other products sourced from eggs.
(V) Edible bird's nest, excluding commercially sterile, canned varieties.
(VI) Animal fats and oils, rawhides, untreated wool, hooves (claws), bones, teeth, horns, and articles made from them. The prohibition does not apply to processed crafts made from materials such as eggshells, hoof (claw), bone, horn, shells, or crustaceans, provided they are thoroughly cleaned of any blood, muscle, or fat.
(VII) Animal-derived feed, animal-derived traditional Chinese medicines, and fertilizers of animal origin.
A critical point to remember: regardless of how they are labeled - be it as "biscuits", "protein powder", "nutritional tablets", "energy bars" or any other name - pet food items containing animal-derived ingredients are subject to these restrictions and are strictly prohibited from being carried or mailed into the country.
III. Permitted Pet Food: What Can Be Mailed
While most pet foods containing animal-derived ingredients are prohibited from postal entry to China, certain products may be imported legally under specific conditions. This includes plant-derived and other non-animal-derived pet foods. Approved pet foods with plant-derived ingredients encompass wheat, corn, soybeans, and vegetables, provided the final product contains no seeds capable of germination.
Additionally, as stipulated in the appendix to the Catalogue, normally prohibited animals, plants, their products and other quarantine objects listed in this Cataloguemay be mailed into China if the importer secures appropriate permits from the relevant Chinese administrative authorities and presents an official quarantine certificate issued by the exporting country or region.
IV. Import Limits and Duty on Mailed Pet Food: What You Need to Know
(I) Duty-Free Allowance for Postal Imports
The duty-free allowance applies to shipments with a total value within 2,000 yuan, as well as to a single, indivisible item with a value exceeding 2,000 yuan.
(II) Tax Policy
1. Duty Payable: The amount of duty is calculated by multiplying the dutiable value by the comprehensive tax rate. Pet food is currently subject to a 13 percent comprehensive tax rate, with the dutiable value determined based on the actual purchase price.
2. Duty-Free Allowance: No import duty is levied by Customs if the calculated tax amount is 50 yuan or less.
3. Exceeding the Allowance: Shipments exceeding this allowance must be either returned to the sender or cleared through Customs as commercial goods.
V. Consequences for Mailing Prohibited Pet Food
In accordance with the People's Republic of China on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine, any prohibited items listed in the Catalogue that are mailed into the country are subject to return to sender or destruction.
Customs enforces strict controls on the import of pet food via mail to mitigate the risk of introducing animal diseases, thereby protecting the safety of China's agricultural and livestock sectors, as well as its ecological environment.
Customs Advisory: Individuals who mail prohibited items in violation of these regulations will face enforcement action by Customs. Consequences may include administrative sanctions. In severe cases, the criminal responsibilities shall be investigated for. For those with a legitimate need to import pet food, it is imperative to research policy requirements in advance, ensure full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, and obtain the necessary quarantine approvals to avoid potential losses. We urge all stakeholders to operate in a lawful and compliant manner to collectively safeguard our national biosecurity.
(By Chen Chubin and Xie Xiaoluan)
