According to statistics, the scale of China’s pet economy industry will reach 493.6 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 25.2%, and the market size is expected to reach 811.4 billion yuan in 2025. In the post-epidemic era, pet economy has become one of the few industries that has bucked the trend under the background of accelerated aging of the domestic population and the growth of the number of empty-nest youth. Pets are increasingly regarded as important family members. People’s willingness to provide their pets with better quality food, clothing and shelter also continues to increase. Among them, pet food, as one of the necessary consumer categories, has a very active market, and imported pet food is becoming more and more popular among Chinese consumers. Currently, pet food products or raw materials from 19 countries or regions have gained access, including the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Italy, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Spain, Thailand, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan.

      If you want to join this wave of business, but don’t know what qualifications and procedures are required to import pet food, please contact us.

Definition of Pet Food

      According to regulations on various types of pet feed (pet food) in the “Pet Feed Management Measures”, pet feed refers to products that are industrially processed and produced for direct consumption by pets, including pet compound feed, pet additive premixed feed and other pet feeds.

      According to the “Regulations on the Administration of Feed and Feed Additives”, “Measures for the Registration and Management of Imported Feed and Feed Additives” and “Measures for the Management of Pet Feed” promulgated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, overseas enterprises exporting pet feed and pet feed additives to China for the first time must entrust the office of an overseas enterprise in China or the agency in China to apply for registration with the agricultural administrative department of the State Council and obtain an import registration certificate in accordance with the law. Enterprises that have not obtained import registration certificates may not be allowed to sell in China.

Regulatory Background

  • “Administrative Licensing Law of the People’s Republic of China” (Promulgated by the Presidential Order of the People’s Republic of China No. 7 of 2003).
  • “Regulations on the Administration of Feed and Feed Additives” (State Council Order No. 609, revised by State Council Order No. 645, 666, and 676).
  • “Registration and Management Measures for Imported Feed and Feed Additives” (Ministry of Agriculture Order No. 2 of 2014, revised by Ministry of Agriculture Order No. 3 of 2016 and Ministry of Agriculture Order No. 8 of 2017).
  • “Application Material Requirements for Registration of Imported Feed and Feed Additives”, “Application Material Requirements for Registration of Renewal of Imported Feed and Feed Additives” and “Application Material Requirements for Change Registration of Imported Feed and Feed Additives” (hereinafter referred to as “Requirements for Application Materials”) (Announcement No. 2109 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture Order No. 3 of 2016 Revision).
  • “Pet Feed Management Measures”, “Pet Feed Labeling Regulations” and “Pet Feed Hygiene Regulations” (Announcement No. 20 of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs).

Application Process of Pet Food

Imported Pet Food Registration

Compliance Analysis of Pet Food Formula

  • Confirm pet food category.
  • Evaluate whether the feed ingredients and additives in the formula are available and confirm whether the dosage is in compliance with regulations.
  • If it is not compliant, we can provide suggestions for modification.

Label Review of Pet Food

  • Confirm pet food category.
  • Review original labels and Chinese labels to provide some suggestions.
  • If there is a Chinese label, we can help design standard labeling.

Certificate Management

  • Registration: When an overseas enterprise exports feed and feed additives to China for the first time, the overseas enterprise’s office in China or the entrusted agency in China shall apply for import registration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
  • Renewal of Registration: If the import registration certificate expires and needs to continue exporting feed and feed additives to China, enterprises should apply for renewal of registration 6 months before the expiration of the validity period.
  • Change of Registration: During the validity period of the import registration certificate, if the certified enterprise changes the Chinese or foreign product name of the product, the name of the applicant company, the name of the manufacturer, or the name of the production address, it should apply for change of registration.