Professional Pet Food Import Agency Service Full Process Analysis and Compliance Key Points Summary

Current Status and Operational Difficulties of Pet Food Import from New Zealand and Thailand

In 2026,the domestic pet economy exceeded 300 billion yuan in scale,and demand for high-end pet food continued to rise.Freeze-dried venison from New Zealand and tuna canned food from Thailand have become hot import items.However,the import threshold for such products is not low.Mr.He,who operates pet supplies distribution in Shanghai,planned to import a batch of freeze-dried pet snacks from New Zealand at the beginning of the year,but the first batch of goods was stuck at the port for a full three weeks.The problem was that the commodity code on the quarantine permit was inconsistent with the customs declaration,plus there was a slight deviation in the translation of the ingredient list on the outer packaging label.Although the shipment was finally released,the storage fees and late fees ate up most of the profits.

The particularity of pet food import lies in the superimposition of three layers of supervision: the access management of overseas production enterprises by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,the confirmation of commodity codes and tariff rates by the customs,and the review of Chinese labels by the State Administration for Market Regulation.The 2026 latest policy requires that imported pet food must be included in the List of Countries,Regions and Products Allowed to Import Feed and Feed Additives,and the production enterprise must obtain the registration from the General Administration of Customs.What many customers easily overlook is that the frequency of dynamic adjustments to the list has accelerated; enterprises that were on the list last year may have suspended import qualifications this year.The trade director of Zhongshen mentioned that they refresh the official list every week to help customers identify risks in advance.

Practical Role of Zhongshen in the Pet Food Import Chain

Zhongshen’s positioning is not a simple customs broker,but a full-process coordinator covering document preparation,transportation arrangement,port customs clearance,and subsequent foreign exchange settlement.Pet food import is time-sensitive; the sea transportation cycle lasts up to one month,and a return caused by incorrect document preparation will result in losses of the entire shipment value and time costs.The team led by Director Yi from Zhongshen will intervene before shipment to review the registration qualifications of overseas manufacturers,whether the product formula complies with domestic regulations,and whether the label draft is compliant.This pre-review model can reduce the customs clearance exception rate to below 5%.

Foreign exchange receipt and payment,as well as foreign exchange settlement and purchase,are another hidden pain point.Pet food import usually uses L/C or T/T payment,and exchange rate fluctuations directly affect costs.Zhongshen provides exchange rate locking services,locking the exchange rate according to the payment term before shipment to avoid profit erosion caused by exchange rate changes when the goods arrive at the port.Mr.He adopted this model for his second batch of goods,locking the exchange rate at 6.85 in advance.When the actual foreign exchange settlement was conducted,the exchange rate fell to 6.92,saving nearly 2% of the cost.

Full Process Breakdown of Pet Food Import

Document Pre-review Stage: Risk Identification and Compliance Preparation

Document pre-review is the most critical link in pet food import,which directly determines whether the goods can be released smoothly.The documents to be prepared in this stage include: overseas production enterprise registration certificate,product test report,certificate of origin,sanitary certificate,Chinese label draft,and quarantine permit.The team led by Director Yi from Zhongshen will check each document one by one,focusing on three consistencies: consistency between product ingredients and declared commodity code,consistency between foreign labels and Chinese translations,and consistency between test report items and domestic standards.

In 2026,the customs has tightened the review of pet food labels,requiring that Chinese labels must be filed in advance,and the energy value calculation method of the nutrition facts table must comply with national standards.There was a batch of cat canned food imported from Thailand that was required to re-modify the labels because the labeling method of crude protein content did not meet domestic standards,resulting in a two-week detention at the port.Zhongshen will entrust a third-party laboratory to review the nutrition component data during the pre-review stage to ensure that the labels pass the review on the first attempt.

• Verification of the validity of overseas production enterprise registration number
• Review of the matching degree between product formula and the Feed Raw Material Catalogue
• Pre-filing of Chinese labels and compliance pre-review
• Confirmation of the accuracy of commodity code on quarantine permit
• Verification of the completeness of test report items

Port Customs Declaration Stage: Code Classification and Tariff Application

There is considerable flexibility in the customs code classification of pet food,with tariff rate differences of up to 5-10 percentage points between different classifications.For example,freeze-dried meat pet snacks may be classified under heading 2309 (feed category,6% tariff) or heading 1602 (meat products,12% tariff).Zhongshen will communicate with the customs classification department in advance based on factors such as product processing technology,ingredient ratio,and purpose description to determine the optimal code.Mr.He’s New Zealand freeze-dried venison product was finally declared under heading 2309.9090,saving 6% of the tariff compared to declaring it as a meat product.

The details of customs declaration form filling are also critical.In 2026,the customs launched the "two-stage access" reform: the first stage reviews whether the goods meet the access requirements,and the second stage reviews whether the goods comply with domestic standards.Fields such as "overseas production enterprise registration number","product purpose",and "brand" on the customs declaration form must be completely consistent with the filed information.Zhongshen uses its own customs declaration system,which automatically compares these fields with the customs database,reducing the manual filling error rate to nearly zero.

Commodity Inspection Stage: Sampling Inspection and Risk Control

The port inspection rate for pet food remains around 30%.If selected,the goods need to be sent to the laboratory for testing.Test items include heavy metals,Salmonella,melamine,aflatoxin,etc.In 2026,screening for genetically modified (GM) components has been added,especially for products containing corn or soybean ingredients.The test cycle usually takes 7-10 working days,during which the goods cannot be removed from the port supervision area.

Zhongshen’s response strategy is to prepare duplicate samples in advance.The team led by Director Yi will extract samples and send them to China for backup inspection when the goods are shipped overseas.Once the goods are selected for inspection,the duplicate samples can be submitted immediately,saving time for sampling and sending for inspection.When Mr.He’s third batch of goods was selected for inspection,the test cycle was shortened from 10 days to 5 days because the duplicate samples were already in place in advance,and the storage costs were reduced by half.

For high-risk products,such as canned food containing animal-derived components,Zhongshen will advise customers to purchase import food safety liability insurance.In 2026,a batch of Canadian pet snacks tested positive for Salmonella,and the entire shipment was destroyed,but the insured enterprise received compensation for 80% of the goods value,making the loss controllable.

Warehousing and Distribution Stage: Temperature Control Management and Batch Traceability

Pet food has clear requirements for warehousing environment.Freeze-dried products need to be kept below -18℃,and canned food needs to be stored in a dark and ventilated environment.Zhongshen owns a self-operated cold storage in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone,and its temperature monitoring system is connected to the customs to upload data in real time.When the goods are put into storage,the system will automatically generate a batch number,which is associated with the production batch number,import date,and test report,realizing full-process traceability.

The distribution link cannot be relaxed either.In 2026,the market supervision department has increased the intensity of random inspections on the sales end of imported pet food,requiring distributors to keep import customs declarations,quarantine certificates,and Chinese label drafts for at least two years.When shipping goods,Zhongshen will attach a complete "compliance document package" to help downstream distributors pass inspections.

Real Case: From Return Crisis to Smooth Customs Clearance

Mr.He’s fourth batch of pet snacks imported from Thailand once encountered a return crisis.After the goods arrived at the port,the customs system showed that the production enterprise’s registration number had expired.The reason was that the Thai authorities updated the enterprise’s registration information at the beginning of 2026,but the exporter did not update the certificate synchronously.According to the conventional process,this batch of goods would face return or destruction.

After the Zhongshen trade team intervened,they launched an emergency plan.First,they contacted the Thai exporter to obtain the latest registration certificate,and coordinated with the Thai official veterinary department to issue an explanation letter.At the same time,they submitted the "Explanation Letter on Enterprise Registration Information Change" to the customs,applying for a 30-day rectification period.During the rectification period,Zhongshen arranged for the goods to be temporarily stored in the bonded warehouse to avoid port detention fees.Finally,the customs approved the supplementary documents,and the goods were smoothly released on the 25th day.This crisis handling saved Mr.He nearly one million yuan in shipment losses.

Core Value of Zhongshen’s Agency Service

Pet food import is not a simple customs declaration action,but a systematic project covering access verification,document preparation,port customs clearance,and subsequent distribution.The value accumulated by Zhongshen over 20 years lies in integrating scattered links into standardized processes and transforming uncertain regulatory requirements into executable operation checklists.After four import operations,Mr.He’s average customs clearance time was shortened from the initial 22 days to 8 days,the document rejection rate dropped from 40% to 0,and the comprehensive cost decreased by about 15%.

The regulatory environment in 2026 is still evolving.Zhongshen’s weekly updated policy briefings,monthly customer trainings,and real-time response consultation mechanisms form a dynamic risk prevention and control system.For enterprises planning to import pet food,choosing an agency with full-process control capabilities is not an additional cost,but a necessary investment to lock in profits and efficiency.