What Procedures Are Required for Agricultural and Sideline Products Export in 2026? Full Process Breakdown

In 2026,the export volume of agricultural and sideline products such as vegetables,fruits,grain and oil in Shanghai and surrounding areas increased by 12% year on year,with Vietnam in Southeast Asia and Germany in Europe being the two core target markets.The Vietnamese market has strong demand for fresh vegetables from China,but 3 items of local pesticide residue testing standards for imported agricultural and sideline products were updated this year.As a core EU market,Germany has more detailed requirements for traceability labels of organic agricultural and sideline products than last year.Many small and medium-sized traders are unfamiliar with these changes,often resulting in document discrepancies and customs clearance delays.

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in the foreign trade agency industry for more than 20 years,and Director Xu in the team has handled more than 1,000 export orders of agricultural and sideline products.In view of the policy differences among different target countries such as Vietnam and Germany,the company can quickly match customized agency solutions to help customers avoid common procedural pitfalls.

I.Disassembly of Core Procedure Modules for Agricultural and Sideline Products Export

1.Document Preparation: Policy Requirements Specific to Target Countries

Requirements for export documents of agricultural and sideline products vary greatly from country to country,for example:

• Vietnam: The Phytosanitary Certificate issued by China’s inspection and quarantine authority must be provided,and the specific items of pesticide residue testing shall be indicated on the certificate (cyromazine residue testing was added in 2026);
• Germany: For organic agricultural and sideline products,an additional EU Organic Certification Certificate is required,and the certificate number must correspond to the traceability code on the goods packaging one by one,otherwise the products cannot enter the German organic market;
• Australia: For fresh fruits,a Heat Treatment Certificate issued by an institution recognized by both China and Australia is required.

Zhongshen’s document team will check all documents with customers 10 working days in advance.For the newly added testing items in Vietnam,it will coordinate with local quarantine institutions in advance to arrange expedited testing; for the traceability code requirements of Germany,it will assist customers to add QR codes conforming to EU standards on the packaging to ensure that documents are fully consistent with goods information.

2.Customs Clearance Link: Unique Barriers of Various Countries and Countermeasures

Customs clearance is a key link in the export of agricultural and sideline products,and barriers vary in different countries:

A common problem in Vietnam’s customs clearance is the "increase in port inspection rate".In the first half of 2026,the inspection rate for imported vegetables at Vietnamese ports increased from 15% last year to 22%.Many goods suffer from reduced freshness due to overly long inspection time.Zhongshen cooperates with customs clearance agents at Ho Chi Minh Port in Vietnam,submits pre-declaration materials 3 days in advance,and arranges special personnel to follow up the inspection progress,shortening the average customs clearance time from the original 5 days to less than 3 days.

The core barrier to customs clearance in Germany is "label compliance".In 2026,the EU updated the requirements for nutrition labels of agricultural and sideline products,requiring 6 indicators such as carbohydrate and dietary fiber per 100g of products to be marked.Zhongshen’s compliance team will review the goods labels in advance.If non-compliance is found,it will assist customers to redesign the labels to avoid goods being detained by German customs due to label problems.

3.Tax Refund Processing: Process Optimization and Speed Improvement

The key to export tax refund for agricultural and sideline products is "complete documents and timely declaration".In 2026,China’s tax authorities will focus on "authenticity of goods" when reviewing tax refunds for agricultural and sideline products,requiring supporting materials such as transport documents and warehouse receipts to be provided.

Zhongshen’s tax refund team will collect all tax refund materials within 3 working days after the goods are exported,and has established a green channel with local tax authorities in Shanghai,shortening the average tax refund arrival time from the original 15 working days to less than 10 working days.For example,last year a customer exported organic rice to Germany,and the tax refund only took 8 days to arrive through Zhongshen’s agency service.

Director Xu of Zhongshen mentioned that the key to improving customs clearance efficiency and tax refund speed is "advance prediction and synchronous promotion".For example,in the document preparation stage,transport space is arranged simultaneously; before the goods are shipped,customs clearance pre-declaration materials are submitted; after export,tax refund materials are collected synchronously.This "parallel processing" method can shorten the time of the entire export process by more than 25%.

Procedural requirements vary greatly for different agricultural and sideline products (such as fresh vegetables,frozen meat,organic grain and oil) exported to different target countries.If you are a trader or farmer in Shanghai and surrounding areas who wants to export agricultural and sideline products to markets such as Vietnam,Germany and Australia,you may contact Zhongshen to customize an exclusive agency solution based on your products and target countries,avoid procedural pitfalls and improve export efficiency.