In 2026,China’s pet food imports increased by 27% year-on-year,but the newly revised "Regulations on the Administration of Import and Export of Animals and Animal Products" issued by the General Administration of Customs has raised the import threshold for pet food.The "Measures for the Supervision and Management of Inspection and Quarantine of Feed and Feed Additives" have left 63% of traditional agency companies in operational difficulties—are you still using the import and export process for pet food that was implemented three years ago?

The three core conflicts in the import and export of pet food: the trade-off between compliance,timeliness,and cost

The complexity of pet food import and export far exceeds that of ordinary food: on the one hand,it needs to meet dual quarantine standards at home and abroad (such as China’s "Pet Feed Hygiene Regulations" and the EU’s FEDIAF standards),and on the other hand,the temperature control requirements of cross-border logistics (such as freeze-dried products needing transportation at -18°C) push up logistics costs.More problematically,the rectification rate of non-compliant labels (such as not labeling "pet food") is as high as 41%,directly affecting capital turnover.

Pet food importsFull-process SOP: A four-step closed-loop process from qualification to customs clearance

Step 1: Prepare qualifications and core documents

Output:

• EnterpriseQualification:Domesticenterprisesneedtoobtainthe"FeedProductionEnterpriseReviewandApprovalCertificate"(forpetfood),whileforeignenterprisesneedtocompletetherelevantproceduresattheGeneralAdministrationofCustomsRegistrationofoverseasproductionenterprises(needtosubmitproductionprocessandqualitycontrolsystemfiles).
• Coredocuments:(mustspecifyrawmaterialsource),SanitaryCertificate(mustincludequarantineresultsandproductiondate),acomponentanalysisreport(mustmatchlabel),Chineselabelfiling(mustbesubmittedtoGACCsysteminadvance).

Step 2: Precisely match regulations and standards

Output:

• Accordingtotheproducttype(suchasstaplefood,snacks,additives),checktheclassificationaccordingtothe"PetFeedClassificationCatalogue",anddifferentcategoriescorrespondtodifferentquarantineitems(forexample,staplefoodneedstobetestedforSalmonella,andsnacksneedtobetestedforheavymetals).
• Whenexporting,itisnecessarytomeetthestandardsofthetargetcountry.Forexample,ItisnecessarytopasstheFEDIAFcertification.ItmustcomplywiththeAAFCOstandards,andareportcanbeobtainedinadvancefromathird-partytestingagency(suchasSGSorIntertek).

Step 3: Optimize the logistics and customs clearance process

Output:

• Logisticssolutionselection:Forfreeze-driedproducts,airfreightisrecommended(intemperature-controlledcontainers,withadeliverytimeof3-5days),whilecannedproductscanbeshippedbyothermethodsaswell(Forfullcontainershipping,thecostisreducedby40%),itisnecessarytoconfirmwiththefreightforwarderinadvanceregardingthetemperaturecontrolequipment(suchasthecalibrationreportofthetemperaturerecorderintherefrigeratedcontainer).
• Customsclearanceprocess:Submitit24hoursinadvanceCustomsdeclarationform+accompanyingdocumentsWhengoingthroughcustomsinspection,youneedtoprovidethefollowingdocumentsandinformation:Batchproductionrecords,rawmaterialquarantinecertificatesIftheproductcontainsgeneticallymodifiedcomponents,anadditional"AgriculturalGeneticallyModifiedOrganismSafetyCertificate"mustbesubmitted.

Step 4: Cost control and risk prevention

Output:

• Professionalsupport:Byadoptingthe"bondedwarehouse+off-zonedistribution"model,importerscandeferthepaymentofcustomsduties(witha30-dayextendedpaymentperiod);whenimportinginbulk,theycansignacontractwithafreightforwardingcompany.Lump-sumpriceagreement(includingwarehousing,transport,andclearancetoavoidhiddenfees).
• Riskresponse:PurchaseImportedgoodsinsurance(coverscargodamage,demurrage),agreeonlabelrectificationcostsbornebysupplierclauseincontracttoavoidlossesfromoverseasmanufacturererrors.

Overlooked hidden costs: profit erosion points from labeling to demurrage

90% of enterprises only focus on tariffs and freight charges,but ignore three hidden costs: ① Label rectification fees (if overseas labels do not include Chinese ingredient lists,the rectification cost for each batch is approximately 2,000-5,000 yuan); ② Storage demurrage fees (customs inspection exceeds the time limit,and the daily rental fee for bonded warehouses can reach 800 yuan per container); ③ Quarantine sampling losses (the sampling quantity for each batch is 3-5 kg,and the loss of high-priced raw materials such as freeze-dried beef is significant).It is recommended to stipulate in the contract that "the supplier shall bear the first-time label rectification fees" and purchase insurance accordingly.Storage Delay Insurance.

The three urgent self-checks can be launched today

• Checktheenterprise’squalifications:LogintotheGeneralAdministrationofCustoms’"ListofOverseasPetFoodManufacturingEnterprises"toconfirmwhetherthecooperatingsupplierisonthelist.)
• Checkthecomplianceoflabels:Downloadthe"MandatoryItemsListforChineseLabelsofPetFood"(containing12mandatorycontentitems)andcompareitwiththeexistingproductlabelsonebyone.
• Contactthefreightforwardertoconductacostestimate:Providetheproducttype(e.g.freeze-driedstaplefood)andtheaveragemonthlyimportvolume(e.g.5tons),andobtainadetailedpricecomparisonbetween"airfreight+bondedwarehouse"and"seafreight+ordinarywarehouse".
• (Additionalitem)Applyforthird-partyinspection:SelecttwocoreproductsandentrustSGStoinspectwhethertheycomplywiththelatestChinesequarantinestandards(thecostisapproximately3,000yuanperproduct,toavoidbeingdetainedduringcustomsclearance).