Date of issue: 5 May 2017
Date of effect: Immediate
Reference Number: MAA1702
Attention:
Industries - Industry bodies - AHBIC
Export establishments including:
- Honey
Licensed exporters
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources - Central and Regional offices
Purpose
To notify processing establishments that listing with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and The Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) of China will be required to export honey and royal jelly to China.
Change to export listing requirements for China for honey and royal jelly
The CNCA will require that processing establishments producing honey and royal jelly be listed with CNCA to be eligible to export to China. Export listing requires submission of the application form to CNCA (attachment 1). Applicants are encouraged to ensure that the form is filled out in accordance with the style guide provided (attachment 2). At this stage, only processing establishments for honey and royal jelly are required to submit the listing application form. Storage establishments, apiaries and other establishments in the export chain are not required to be listed with China.
Listing with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
As a requirement of being listed with CNCA, processing establishments will also be required to be listed with the department. You will need to complete attachment 3 in order to be listed with the department. If your processing establishment is already listed with the department for another market, please ensure you note this on the application form (attachment 3).
Submission of the Application
Honey and royal jelly can be currently exported to China under previous market arrangements. The new establishment listing conditions will be brought into effect upon CNCA’s advice. The department is currently unaware of the timeline regarding implementation. All establishments processing honey and royal jelly for the China market are requested to complete and submit the application forms to NPG Exports. An initial round of submissions of the listing applications will be made to CNCA on 15 May 2017 after which the department will continue to submit applications to CNCA as required by industry.
Background
In January 2016, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of China advised the department that all countries exporting honey and royal jelly to China must have their management systems assessed by China and relevant products must go through risk analysis. As part of this process, Australia has submitted a questionnaire that informed AQSIQ of Australia’s food safety systems in relation to honey and royal jelly. CNCA will be conducting a systems audit of Australia’s honey systems in May 2017. As part of this assessment, China now requires listing of foreign honey processing establishments with the CNCA.
The Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR) will be updated to reflect the changes.
The information provided in this advice is current at the time of writing and is intended for use as guidance only and should not be taken as definitive or exhaustive. The Commonwealth endeavours to keep information current and accurate, however, it may be subject to change without notice. Exporters are encouraged to verify these details with their importers prior to undertaking production/exports. The Commonwealth will not accept liability for any loss resulting from reliance on information contained in this notice.
Further information
Contact NPG Exports if you have any queries.