China's Revised Food Import Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Vietnam's Agricultural Exports

Strategic Insights -

China is one of Vietnam's largest and most potential trading partners, with a significant import market for agricultural products. In response to China's increasingly stringent requirements, Vietnamese cooperatives and enterprises have proactively standardized production processes and invested in raw materials and deep processing to increase competitiveness and maintain sustainable exports. The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has approved 3,938 agricultural and food product codes for Vietnamese enterprises to export to the Chinese market, including 250 codes licensed in the first 10 months of this year.

Key Takeaways:

  • The GACC has approved 3,938 agricultural and food product codes for Vietnamese enterprises to export to China, including 250 codes licensed in the first 10 months of this year.
  • Decree No. 280, issued by the GACC, will take effect from June 1, 2026, and replaces Decree No. 248, which has been applied since 2022.
  • The new policy directly impacts all businesses exporting agricultural products and food to China, including Vietnamese enterprises.
  • The enterprises directly affected by Decree 280 include factories processing agricultural products, seafood, meat products, milk, starch, juices, beverages, and dried agricultural products.
  • Dr. Ngo Xuan Nam, deputy director of the Vietnam SPS Office, advises enterprises to review their registration code on the GACC's CIFER portal, especially in cases of location, legal entity, or domestic license changes.
  • Decree 280 clarifies the scope of application to storage facilities, cold storage, or transit warehouses abroad, which are required to register if they participate in the chain of preserving processed products before exporting to the Chinese market.
  • The new policy is considered a step forward, and Vietnamese enterprises can benefit from it if they maintain an effective, transparent food safety control system and have an early warning mechanism.
  • Management agencies need to continue to synchronize data on growing areas, production areas, processing facilities, and traceability systems to assess Vietnam's management capacity and transparency.

Statistics:

  • 3,938: The total number of agricultural and food product codes approved for Vietnamese enterprises to export to China.
  • 250: The number of codes licensed for Vietnamese enterprises in the first 10 months of this year.
  • 2022: The year Decree No. 248, the previous policy, went into effect.
  • 2026: The year Decree No. 280 will take effect, replacing Decree No. 248.

Sources:

  • Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
  • General Administration of Customs of China (GACC)
  • Decree No. 280
  • Vietnam SPS Office
  • CIFER portal