Evira acts as Finland's central competent authority for food export issues. It is responsible for cooperation with third country officials on food safety and animal disease, providing declarations of compliance on Finland's food safety controls and exporting facilities. Evira also handles market access questionnaires, inspections and audits to verify exporter compliance, and administration of veterinary and phytosanitary certificates. Export requirements vary depending on the product and destination country, with animal products generally having more stringent rules. Evira provides support to help Finnish SMEs navigate export regulations and requirements.

1. Evira’s role in food export to China
19.4.2017 Access China – a workshop on Chinese Compliance
Riitta Rahkila, Sanna Kiuru, Saara Pietilä
Evira Export

2. Aim: to enable and enhance export of Finnish food 
Evira acts as the central competent authority in veterinary export
issues and is responsible for:
 Co-operation with the officials of third countries on animal
disease and food safety issues
– Declaration of compliance on Finland´s food safety and official control
– Declaration of compliance on the exporting facility and product
 Market access questionnaires
– Recently finished to China: BSE-questionnaire, fish questioinnaire +
additional reports, (next poultry?)
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Evira Export

3.  Inspection and audit tasks directed to verify the compliance of
operators with export requirements and the effectiveness of the
official export control at the local level
– Control systems (China, Eurasian Economic Union incl. Russia, USA)
 Administration of Veterinary and Phytosanitary certificates
 Training and guidance of business operators and official
veterinarians on export requirements
 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is in charge of the SPS-
(sanitary and phytosanitary) requirements of international trade
– Evira: implementation of bilateral agreements
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Evira Export

4. 1. The product fulfills the requirements of EU and national legislation
Note: the requirements of export country can be more strict than above
2. It is the responsibility of exporting operators to ascertain export
conditions and be assured for fulfilling the requirements
(Act of Animal Diseases 441/2013 61§; MMM 17/08 36 §)
 The content of permission to export / export certificate varies depending on
export product and country – export country defines!
– Food of animal origin – more challenging
– Food of plant origin, ”Less risky” (food safety, animal diseases) products – less
challenging
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Export requirements

5. Food of plant origin
Food with both animal-
and plant-based
ingredients
Food of animal origin
Phytosanitary
certificate
Free sale -certificate,
Control certificate
Veterinary health
certificate
Export
Export product
Possible market acces questionnaires, bilateral agreement on export
conditions
Possible export country approvals of establishments, registrations,
audits

6.  Assurance that…
– The products are free for trade in the EU
– The exporting company is under the supervision of competent local
public health authority
– The products were manufactured and stored in an establishment
approved by the competent local public health authority
– …..
 General assurance, not specific to each batch
 Local competent authority issues
 Other certificates may be required, for ex. about the chemical,
microbiological, radiological or physical characteristics of the
product
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Free sale certificate, Certificate of
control, HACCP certificate etc.

7.  Products of animal origin
– The objective is to prohibit spread of animal disease and assurance of compliance of
the product
 Bilateral sanitary certificates between China and Finland (food):
– Pork
– Fishery products
– Milk products
Mandatory to use!
Competent authority can order from Evira export
 (Usually) specific to each batch
 Official veterinarian issues
 Export companies requiring veterinary certificates must be registered to Evira´s
export register (Act of Animal Diseases 441/2013 70§)
https://www.evira.fi/elintarvikkeet/tuonti-ja-vienti/vienti-eun-ulkopuolelle-uudet-
sivut/viejalle/Rekisterit/viejarekisteri/
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Veterinary Certificate

8. The objective is to prohibit spread of plant diseases
 Usually required for unprocessed vegetable, fruit, berries ja cereals –
 For export to China: also for some processed berry and cereal products
 Evira issues certificate to each export shipment
 Export companies requiring phytosanitary certificates must be registered
to Evira´s plant health register
https://www.evira.fi/en/plants/import-and-export/plants/export-to-non-
eu-countries/phytosanitary-certificate/
 Contact person in Evira:
Sari Haikola (sari.haikola@evira.fi)
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Phytosanitary certificate

9. 9
Export requirements for food from
Finland to China
All producers, exporters and importer in the supply chain have to
register to Chinese authority AQSIQ http://ire.eciq.cn/

10. 10
Export requirements for food from
Finland to China: food of animal origin
Pork meat
Export conditions in the
protocol and veterinary
certificate
Establishment level approval
process with CNCA visit
Control system
Meat other than pork
Export not possible at the
moment – no protocol
Milk products
Export conditions in the veterinary certificate
Establisment registration, Control system
IMF: Establishment level approval process
incl. CNCA visit, Control system, Product
recipe approval
Fishery products
Export conditions in the veterinary certificate
Establisment registration, Control system
Only products from certain fish species
possibleHoney
Export not possible at the moment – no protocol
Possible for processed honey products?

11. 11
Export requirements for food from
Finland to China: food of plant origin
Cereal
Export conditions in the
protocol for oat, oat flakes and
barley
Establisment registration
Phytosanitary certificate
Mushrooms
Export not possible at the moment – no
protocol
Export of processed mushrooms possible?
Berry products
Export of unprocessed products not
possible at the moment – no protocol
Exceptions for ”old export” f.ex.
blueberries
Export of processed berries possible?
Phytosanitary certificate
”All food and beverages”
From 1.10.2017 general certificate for all foods?
"the product meets the standards and
requirements of the Chinese law"

12.  Products (meat, fish and fishery products, milk products) that require country
and establishment level registration/ approval
 Requirements, registration and approval by Chinese authorities:
 Country level approval: AQSIQ = General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine
 Establishment level approval/registration: CNCA = Certification and
Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China
 Declaration of compliance by Evira, regular audits, reporting to Chinese
authorities (eControl), training on export requirements
– Operators have to commit to Evira´s China specific control system
Not a legal task for Evira – the cost divided between the operators (at the moment c. 3000 e/y)
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China specific control system

13. The Food and Beverage Market Entry
Handbook: The People’s Republic of China:
a Practical Guide to the Market in China for
European Agri-food Products and Products
with Geographical Indications

14.  Certificates for export, e.g.
– Phytosanitary certificate – Evira
– Free sales certificate – municipal health inspector
– Veterinary certificate – official veterinarian
 Animal-based products most challenging – specific control system needed
 Plant health issues concern most often unprocessed fruit, vegetables,
cereals – may be required also for more processed plant-based products
 Other certificates, e.g.
– Certificate of Origin – chamber of commere, municipal health inspector
– Certificate of Analysis – company, accreditated laboratory
– Certificate for Organic production – Evira
– Certificate for the Export of alcohol – Valvira
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Certificates for export

15.  Chinese importers
– Both the exporter and the Chinese importer must be registered to AQSIQ
– The importer should be in contact with the right CIQ (AQSIQ’s local inspection and
quarantine agencies of imported and exported goods)
– For certain products (meat, dairy) additional registration to CNCA may be required
 Finnish Embassy in Beijing, China
 Evira
 Commission Market Access Database
http://madb.europa.eu/madb/datasetPreviewFormIFpubli.htm?datacat_id=I
F&from=publi
 Commission: The Food and Beverage Market Entry Handbook: The People’s
Republic of China
 Export statistics – Uljas / ETL
– what food products have been exported from Finland
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How to find out more information
on the requirements?

16. 16
Export statistics

17. 17
Export statistics: milk products

18. We offer help, support and advice
 With official requirements related to exporting
foodstuffs
 At every step of the export process
Companies and authorities receive
 Export councelling and practical guidance
 Info on export and possible target countries
 Export training
The project is aimed at all small and medium sized
food companies who export or wish to export their
products in particular to countries outside the EU.
 End of 2018
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Evira’s SME Export project
in a nutshell
Questions and more info:
pk-vienti@evira.fi
Project web page:
evira.fi/pkvienti
Export newsletter (6x/y):
evira.fi/ajankohtaista
viennista
Evira’s Export team on
Twitter: @Evira_Export

19.  Background: Certain product categories require protocols and
procedures to be in place at the national level; Finland has protocols for
the following groups:
– Pork meat, Dairy products, Oat, Barley, Oat flakes
– Fish products process
 Aim is to conduct a research project in order to identify product groups
where protocols are not needed + create a plan how to proceed with
groups that need a protocol
 All relevant info would help us with the research (pk-vienti@evira.fi)
– What products (other than above-mentioned product groups) do you
already export to China?
– What experiences do you have of exporting food products to China?
– For which products would you be interested to find out the requirements?
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Research project:
SME Export and China

20. Thank you! Questions?