2026 Mugwort Export to Europe: Practical Guide for Agency Service Compliance Customs Clearance

2026 European Mugwort Export Market Background and Core Challenges

In 2026,the demand for mugwort in the European herbal market continues to rise.Germany,France and the Netherlands are the three core importing countries,with annual import volume increasing by 18% compared to 2023.Among them,medicinal mugwort accounts for more than 60%,and the annual growth rate of demand in the aromatherapy field reaches 15%.However,the import supervision of mugwort by European countries is gradually tightening: the EU REACH Regulation requires all mugwort entering the EU to complete chemical registration; Germany’s BfArM has added heavy metal residue limit standards for medicinal mugwort; France requires the provision of organic certification documents from the origin.

Mr.Li,a mugwort grower in Shanghai,once encountered customs delay: in 2025,he exported a batch of medicinal mugwort to Germany on his own.Due to failure to complete REACH registration in advance,the goods were detained at Hamburg Port for 12 days,resulting in demurrage fees exceeding 20,000 yuan."I didn’t know that SIEF member information was required at that time,and I couldn’t get it done even after finding a local agent,and finally lost a lot." Mr.Li said.

Core Value of Zhongshen’s Mugwort Export Agency

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in herbal export for more than 20 years.In response to the policy changes in European mugwort export in 2026,it has formed an agency service system of "accurate policy matching + full-process risk control".Director Jin of the Herbal Trade Department said: "We are not just handling documents,but intervening in the planting and processing links of customers in advance to ensure that each batch of goods meets the regulatory requirements of the target country."

1.Document Preparation: Match Core Certification Requirements of EU Countries

Document requirements for mugwort export to Europe vary by country,with core barriers concentrated in the registration and certification stages:

• EU REACH Registration: Obtain mugwort registration data through SIEF (Substance Information Exchange Forum).Non-EU enterprises need to entrust an EU-based representative (OR) to submit the application;
• German BfArM Certification: Medicinal mugwort needs to provide heavy metal (lead,arsenic) test reports,with limit standards 20% stricter than EU MRL;
• French Organic Certification: Provide China Organic Product Certification Certificate (GB/T19630) and organic product authorization documents from French importers.

Zhongshen’s solutions:

• Assist customers in completing REACH registration 1-2 months in advance,connect with the EU-based OR resources under its umbrella,and quickly obtain SIEF data;

• Cooperate with 3 EU-accredited third-party testing institutions to conduct pre-testing of heavy metals and pesticide residues on mugwort in advance to ensure compliance with German BfArM standards;

• Assign dedicated personnel from the document team to check the consistency between China’s organic certification and French importer’s authorization documents,avoiding customs delays caused by non-compliant certifications.

2.Customs Clearance Agency: Resolve Port Detention and Testing Risks

In 2026,the sampling inspection rate of herbal goods in European ports has increased to 35%.The unqualified rate of pesticide residue tests (such as imidacloprid and cypermethrin) for mugwort reaches 8%,which has become the main cause of customs delays.In addition,Hamburg Port in Germany and Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands have added a "medicinal plant traceability system" for medicinal mugwort,requiring the provision of full traceability data from planting to export.

Zhongshen’s solutions:

• Establish a "traceability data template" to assist customers in recording mugwort planting plots,fertilization records and processing procedures,and upload them to the EU medicinal plant traceability system synchronously;

• Establish green channels with the customs inspection departments of Hamburg Port and Rotterdam Port,and give priority to inspection for goods that pass the pre-test;

• In case of unqualified sampling inspection,connect with EU-accredited re-inspection institutions within 24 hours and provide re-inspection application materials to avoid goods being returned.

Comparison of Core Requirements for Mugwort Export to Three European Countries

3.Foreign Exchange and Tax Refund: Accelerate Capital Recovery Efficiency

In 2026,the average payment period of European importers is 30 days,but due to foreign exchange control and document matching issues,the tax refund period of domestic enterprises is often extended to more than 60 days.The core problem is that the VAT number of EU importers is inconsistent with the "overseas consignee" information on domestic export customs declarations,resulting in failure of tax refund review.

Zhongshen’s solutions:

• The foreign exchange team checks the VAT number and bank account information with European importers in advance to ensure consistency with the customs declaration;

• Tax refund specialists synchronously follow up the matching of customs declarations,VAT invoices and export foreign exchange verification forms to achieve "three documents consistent";

• Connect with the "green channel" of the Shanghai Taxation Bureau,and shorten the review period to 15 working days for tax refund applications of herbal export enterprises.

Practical Case of Agency Service Improving Customs Clearance and Tax Refund Efficiency

In March 2026,Zhongshen assisted Mr.Li’s mugwort planting base to export 2 tons of medicinal mugwort to Germany,and the entire process from document preparation to tax refund arrival was completed in only 18 days:

• Document Preparation: Complete REACH registration and BfArM pre-test in 7 days;
• International Transportation: 5 days from Shanghai Port to Hamburg Port;
• Customs Clearance Inspection: Complete inspection in 3 days (using the green channel due to passing the pre-test);
• Tax Refund Arrival: Complete review in 12 days (8 days shorter than the industry average).

"This cooperation was twice as fast as doing it myself before,and the losses from demurrage and delayed tax refunds were avoided." Mr.Li said.

Customized Agency Service: Match Different Customer Needs

Zhongshen provides customized services for different scenarios of mugwort export:

• For small-scale growers: Provide packaged services of "document handling + pre-test" to reduce upfront costs;

• For large export enterprises: Provide value-added services of "full-process traceability system construction + EU market research";

• For organic mugwort export: Provide services of "organic certification connection + French/German importer resources".

Director Jin of the Herbal Trade Department said: "Each customer’s mugwort variety,target country and certification requirements are different.Our service is not a standard package,but a customized plan based on the actual situation of the customer."

Conclusion

In 2026,the European mugwort export market has both opportunities and challenges.Policy barriers and testing requirements are becoming the core threshold for enterprises to export.With 20 years of experience in herbal export,Zhongshen is familiar with the regulatory policies of EU countries,and can help customers resolve issues such as customs delays and delayed tax refunds to achieve efficient export.If you have mugwort export needs,you can choose Zhongshen’s customized agency service according to your own products and target countries to improve export efficiency and revenue.