Looking for an Agent for Food Export? 2026 Core Process Guide

I.Market Status and Common Challenges of Prepackaged Food Export to Southeast Asia

In the first half of 2026,China’s prepackaged food exports to Southeast Asia increased by 12.7% year-on-year.Categories such as cookies,coconut water and dried fruit are popular among local consumers.However,the recently updated food compliance policies in Thailand,Malaysia,Indonesia and other countries have caught many export enterprises off guard.Ms.Huang,head of a pastry enterprise in Shanghai,exported cookies to Malaysia at the end of last year.She failed to notice the newly enforced mandatory requirement for food allergen labeling,so the goods were detained at Port of Kuala Lumpur for 10 days.This not only incurred high storage fees,but also made her miss the local Ramadan promotion window,resulting in a direct loss of nearly 20,000 RMB.

In addition to label compliance,certification requirements in Southeast Asian countries are also upgrading: Starting from 2026,Indonesia requires that halal certification for imported prepackaged food must be issued by an institution directly authorized by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI),and a notarization of the certification body’s qualification must be provided; Thailand has added a new labeling requirement for "percentage of daily recommended intake of food nutrients",and non-compliant goods will be directly returned.These policy updates are characterized by suddenness and localization,and small and medium-sized food enterprises are often put in a passive position due to information lag or lack of connecting resources.

II.Southeast Asian Food Export Policies and Core Value of Zhongshen

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in food export agency for more than 20 years.In response to policy changes in the Southeast Asian market,its core value is reflected in "advance prediction + local connection": Through local coordination points set up in Thailand,Malaysia and Indonesia,it tracks policy updates 3-6 months in advance,and integrates resources of the whole process of customs declaration,transportation and tax rebate to avoid overall delay caused by negligence in a single link.For example,when Mr.Feng’s coconut water enterprise exported to Indonesia this year,Zhongshen confirmed the qualification of the MUI-authorized certification body in advance,saving the enterprise 2 weeks of certification review time.

III.Breakdown of Core Service Modules of Zhongshen’s Food Export Agency

1.Document Preparation: Full-process Review to Avoid Hidden Errors

Food export documents involve multiple links such as labels,certificates of origin,health certificates and test reports.Requirements vary greatly among Southeast Asian countries,making this the most error-prone part for enterprises.Zhongshen’s document review process is as follows:

• Step 1: Extract the mandatory requirement list of core documents according to the destination country’s policies,such as the FTS declaration document list for Malaysia;
• Step 2: Compare the documents provided by the enterprise against the internal latest 2026 policy database,and mark non-compliant items;
• Step 3: Assist enterprises to modify or supplement documents,for example,directly provide compliant templates for nutrition percentage labeling required by Thailand;
• Step 4: After passing pre-review,synchronize with the local customs clearance agent of the destination country to confirm secondary compliance.

When Ms.Huang’s enterprise exported cookies to Malaysia again this year,through Zhongshen’s document review,it supplemented the required red allergen labeling and registered an FTS account.Document review was completed in only 3 days after the goods arrived at the port.

2.Customs Clearance Coordination: Local Team Breaks Policy Barriers

There are inherent local differences in customs clearance procedures among Southeast Asian countries.For example,Thai Customs requires pre-declaration of imported food 3 days before arrival,while Malaysia requires real-time cold chain temperature records for frozen food during clearance.Zhongshen has one local customs clearance coordinator in each of Thailand,Malaysia and Indonesia,who are responsible for:

• Tracking the latest customs updates,for example,the coordinator notified the domestic team one month in advance of the new FTS declaration requirement introduced by Malaysia in 2026;
• Assisting enterprises to complete pre-declaration,such as the 3-day pre-arrival pre-declaration required by Thailand;
• Liaising with on-site customs inspection,and the coordinator can communicate on site immediately if any problem occurs.

When Mr.Wei’s frozen seafood enterprise exported to Thailand this year,Zhongshen’s local coordinator booked the customs clearance window in advance and assisted in providing real-time cold chain temperature records.Customs clearance was completed 2 days after arrival,7 days faster than the enterprise’s self-operation.

3.Tax Rebate Processing: Shorten Cycle to Improve Capital Turnover

The core of food export tax rebate is complete documents.If there is inconsistent information in the documents submitted by the enterprise (for example,the goods name on the customs declaration does not match that on the VAT invoice),it will lead to review delay.Zhongshen’s tax rebate service team (led by Supervisor Shi) shortens the cycle through the following methods:

• Establish a tax rebate document list template to clarify the required documents from enterprises;
• Connect with tax authorities in advance to confirm the latest tax rebate policy (for example,the food export tax rebate rate remains 13% in 2026);
• Conduct triple check before document submission: confirm that the goods name,quantity and amount on the customs declaration,VAT invoice and contract are consistent.

Since the beginning of this year,Supervisor Shi’s team has helped 12 food enterprises shorten the average tax rebate cycle from 15 days to 8 days,and the fastest transaction only took 5 days.The tax rebate fund of Mr.Feng’s coconut water enterprise arrived in 7 days this year,easing the enterprise’s capital pressure.

IV.How to Choose Customized Agency Service According to Your Own Needs

Food export agency does not follow a one-size-fits-all approach,and solutions need to be customized according to product characteristics and destination country policies:

• If you export prepackaged food to Southeast Asia,focus on label compliance and certification requirements,and choose an agent with local coordinators;
• If you export frozen food to Europe,focus on cold chain temperature traceability and quarantine requirements,and choose an agent with cold chain transportation resources;
• If you export infant food to Australia,focus on formula registration and safety testing,and choose an agent with professional testing connection resources.

Mr.Fang’s frozen seafood enterprise exported to the EU through Zhongshen this year.After learning about the new cold chain temperature traceability requirement introduced by the EU in 2026 in advance,Zhongshen assisted the enterprise in installing real-time temperature monitoring equipment,and the goods cleared customs smoothly without any delay.

Whether you export prepackaged food,frozen food or other categories of food,Zhongshen can customize exclusive agency solutions according to your product characteristics and destination country policies.If you have food export demand,you can contact Zhongshen to learn more about customized services based on your products and target market.