Difficulties in Customs Declaration for Japanese Food Imports? Avoid These Key Pitfalls

Japanese Food Imports: Practical Challenges for Shanghai Enterprises in 2026

In the first half of 2026,the total volume of Japanese food imported through Shanghai ports increased by 12% year-on-year,among which Japanese cuisine ingredients,leisure snacks and dairy products are popular categories.However,many enterprises reported to Manager Yu of Zhongshen that they often get stuck in the import process due to inconsistent documents or unqualified quarantine results.For example,a chain enterprise mainly engaged in Japanese cuisine ingredients once had its goods detained at the port for 7 days because the provided health certificate lacked a special pesticide residue test report issued by Japanese authorities,resulting in extra storage costs of nearly 20,000 yuan.

The difficulty of importing Japanese food essentially lies in the differences in compliance requirements between China and Japan.The connection between Japan’s management system for food additives and pesticide residues and China’s Positive List System is complicated,and the ingredient labeling of some processed foods also needs to comply with China’s General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods.In addition,for food from some regions of Japan,Chinese customs will additionally check the radioactivity test report.If these details are not controlled in advance,it is very easy to cause customs clearance delays or goods return.

Zhongshen: Full Process Controller for Japanese Food Imports

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in foreign trade agency for more than 20 years,and has formed a one-stop service from document pre-review to subsequent foreign exchange settlement and tax refund for the specific needs of Japanese food imports.Manager Yu said that their core advantage lies in "early intervention and precise matching of compliance requirements".For example,before the goods are shipped from Japan,they help enterprises check all documents to avoid the passive situation of "finding problems only after the goods arrive at the port".

1.Document Pre-review: The First Check Before Import

The document requirements for Japanese food imports are more cumbersome than those for ordinary goods,and three types of documents are the core:

• Certificate of origin: It shall be issued by the Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry of Japan or designated institutions,and shall indicate the specific origin of the goods (additional radioactivity test certificates are required for some regions)
• Health certificate: It must contain test data of pesticide residues,heavy metals and additives,and the testing institution shall be a qualified unit recognized by the Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare of Japan
• Component analysis form: For processed foods,the name and content of all raw materials shall be listed in detail,and whether they comply with China’s food additive use standards shall be confirmed

Zhongshen provides assistance through "pre-review in advance + targeted correction".In April 2026,an enterprise importing Japanese sake that Manager Yu cooperated with submitted a health certificate only indicating "compliance with Japanese standards",without explicitly listing 10 pesticide residue test data required by China’s Positive List System.Zhongshen immediately contacted the Japanese supplier to supplement the test,and finally completed the document improvement before the goods arrived at the port,and passed the customs clearance at one time.

2.Port Customs Declaration: Precise Classification to Avoid Tariff Loss

The classification of customs codes (HS codes) for Japanese food is very prone to errors.For example,the codes of "sake" and "sake blended wine" are different,with a tariff rate difference of 5 percentage points; the codes of "Wagyu beef" and "ordinary frozen beef" also need to be distinguished,otherwise the customs will require reclassification.

Zhongshen’s customs declaration team will pre-classify the goods in advance,check the latest 2026 tariff rates (for example,the most-favored-nation tariff rate for some Japanese dairy products has been reduced from 12% to 10%),and assist enterprises in filling out the customs declaration form.An enterprise importing Japanese matcha once overpaid more than 30,000 yuan in tariffs due to code errors,and Zhongshen later helped it apply for correction and recovered the overpaid tax.

3.Commodity Inspection Link: Focus on the Positive List System and Radioactivity Test

China has two key points for commodity inspection of Japanese food,and Zhongshen’s targeted assistance measures are as follows:

In May 2026,an enterprise importing Japanese leisure snacks that Manager Yu cooperated with had goods originating from Chiba Prefecture,Japan (a key region for radioactivity testing),but the supplier did not provide a radioactivity test report.Zhongshen immediately contacted the Japanese agency,obtained the qualified report and completed notarization and translation within 3 days,and finally passed the commodity inspection smoothly,avoiding goods return.

Case Study: 3 Key Risks Zhongshen Helped Enterprises Avoid

A Japanese cuisine chain enterprise in Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as "Enterprise X") planned to import a batch of Japanese Wagyu beef,sake and matcha in 2026.After Zhongshen provided full-process agency services,it helped the enterprise avoid 3 core risks:

• Risk 1: Lack of special pesticide residue test in the health certificate - Zhongshen found this problem during pre-review in advance,and assisted the supplier to supplement the test,saving 7 days of customs clearance time
• Risk 2: Wrong classification of Wagyu beef code - During pre-classification,it was found that Enterprise X mistakenly classified "Wagyu beef" as "ordinary frozen beef",and the tariff rate was reduced from 20% to 15%,saving about 12,000 yuan in tariffs
• Risk 3: Unqualified Chinese label of matcha - Assisted in designing labels that comply with the General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods,avoiding the risk of goods return caused by unqualified labels

In the end,the goods of Enterprise X only took 10 days from being shipped from Japan to completing customs clearance in Shanghai,3 days faster than the industry average,and saved nearly 8,000 yuan in storage costs.

Summary: Professional Agency Makes Japanese Food Imports Easier

The core of Japanese food import is "compliance",and the key to compliance lies in "controlling details in advance".With 20 years of industry experience,Zhongshen is familiar with the food import policies of both China and Japan,and can assist enterprises in the whole process from document pre-review to commodity inspection,which not only improves customs clearance efficiency,but also avoids losses caused by compliance issues.

For import enterprises in Shanghai,choosing a professional agency company is equivalent to taking out an "insurance" for Japanese food imports.Manager Yu said that Zhongshen will continue to pay attention to changes in China-Japan food trade policies,update service processes in a timely manner,and help enterprises cope with import challenges in 2026 and beyond.