MARKET ACCESS NOTICE

27th January 2021

This Market Access Notice is produced for Australian Seafood Exporters from the Seafood Exporter's Consultative Committee and the Seafood Trade Advisory Group.  The information provided in good faith and is based on discussions with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE).  Any information provided as part of this Market Access Notice is general in nature. Before taking any action based on this information provided, you should consider its appropriateness to your individual circumstances and business objectives.

Update to market access for Australian seafood - China and Indonesia

Health certificate update - China

As reported in our last STAG Bulletin, current health certificates for exports of non-viable seafood to China can continue to be used until the new format has been resolved. This situation remains unchanged.

The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has not imposed any deadlines on finalising a new health certificate and are currently considering Australia’s COVID statement.  There is a strong and common view among many countries that a FAO/WHO attestation by government is not required.  Some countries (Chile, Ecuador) have adopted a new health certificate, but most countries are taking a similar position to Australia.

It is possible that GACC may discuss the new health certificate with the government during any forthcoming audits.  

Manufacturer’s Guarantees might be used in place of a government attestation on health certificates. DAWE has provided a statement for industry to use that outlines the process in Australia for adhering to FAO and WHO guidelines. Click here to access the statement

New inspection and quarantine measures undertaken by GACC

Since December 2020, the GACC has also implemented a range of inspection and quarantine measures related to imported cold chain food.  According to GACC these are:

1. Strengthened source management – this has been through enhanced communication and consultation with the relevant administrators of exporting countries.  This has required supervision of exported food into China in accordance with regulatory guidelines released by the FAO and the WHO.  124 cold chain food companies in 21 countries whose employees have been infected with COVID-19 have been suspended from import. Among them, 107 companies voluntarily suspended their exports to China after the epidemic outbreak. 
2. Increased testing – As at 13 January 2021, customs across China have tested a total of 1,295,692 samples, with 47 positive results. 
3. Implemented emergent preventive measures after finding positive samples - The GACC has temporarily stopped import declarations of any overseas food production enterprises found to have positive samples for between 1-4 weeks.  The GACC have now adopted such measures against 39 overseas food production and operation facilities. 
4. Conducted preventive disinfection work at ports across China - Stringent disinfection of cold-chain food imports at ports of entry have been carried out. As of 13 January 2021, ports across China have disinfected 13,170,000 outer packagings of imported cold chain food for prevention purposes.

 Health certificate update – Indonesia

Indonesia has informed Australia that a new health certificate will operate from 1st February 2021.

It remains unclear if the 1st February start date is for shipment or arrival date and as such, Australia (and other countries) are asking for a postponement.  If there is no postponement, DAWE will move to issue manual certificates through regional offices.

DAWE will issue a MAA on the matter when the situation has been clarified.  We will advise you when this happens.

STAG/SECC Market Access Notices are available at http://www.seafoodtradeadvisory.com

STAG/SECC Market Access Notices are a resource for Australian seafood exporters.The Seafood Trade Advisory Group receives funds from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.  The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation plans, invests in and manages fisheries research and development throughout Australia. It is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, jointly funded by the Australian Government and the fishing industry.