China is tightening import conditions, it will affect us too

The Chinese authorities have issued four new technical guidelines for the disinfection of outer packaging and packaging and other measures established for companies that handle these products. “These guidelines could have a significant impact on all imports from China,” said Kristina Mineikienė, China’s agricultural attaché, in a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The guidelines establish requirements for the disinfection and handling of all goods and vehicles imported from abroad, and for the traceability of personnel and products. They claim that all imported products must be kept separate from domestic products. People who work with imported products in China should be vaccinated and isolated from the rest of the population. Mandatory product traceability systems already exist in many parts of China.

China’s previous demands for frozen fish and meat products have already slowed down import processes. In this country, products can only be handled in designated warehouses upon arrival, and packaging must be disinfected.

The controls have been extended to cover the country of origin of the products. Foreign companies that have experienced coronavirus outbreaks among workers and reported in the media have been deprived of the right to import into China.

“The coronavirus restrictions in China are very specific. They may be different for regions or even individual ports and their warehouses, so Lithuanian exporters must take this into account,” K. Mineikienė describes the situation.

Businesses should also assess the risk of delays in shipments to China. There is already information about transshipment in Tianjine, one of the largest frozen meat import ports, blocked and the port of Dalian. Some ports around the world have already had problems with product storage and a lack of containers while in Chinese ports.

Coronavirus outbreaks are often reported in China among logistics workers involved in incoming shipments, especially frozen goods. The country’s health authorities believe it was the frozen products and their packaging that transmitted the virus to China because it was active at low temperatures for longer. Since 2020 in autumn, this is considered to be the case for all products from abroad and their packaging, as the cold winter weather can favor the spread of the virus along the logistics chain.

In other countries, such as Australia, no steps are taken to restrict international trade, as imported packaging and products are not considered a source of infection. According to the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, there is currently no scientific evidence of the spread of coronavirus through food or its packaging.