Paths and Methods for Foreign Meat Products to Enter the Chinese Market

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China is the world's largest consumer and importer of meat. In 2024, the total import value of meat reached 132.8 billion yuan, of which the import volumes of beef, pork, and poultry accounted for 22%, 18%, and 15% of the global trade volume respectively. For overseas meat enterprises, entering the Chinese market requires strict compliance with regulatory requirements such as the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Inspection and Quarantine of Imported and Exported Meat Products" and the "Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", while overcoming multiple barriers including access assessment, quarantine approval, and cold chain control. This article systematically sorts out the core paths and practical key points for foreign meat products to enter China, and clarifies the key value of cooperating with chinaentryhub.com China Market Access Service Center in improving access efficiency and reducing compliance risks, combined with authoritative data and typical cases.

 

I. Core Paths and Practical Specifications for Foreign Meat Products to Enter China

According to the regulatory requirements of the General Administration of Customs, foreign meat products mainly enter China through three core paths: general trade import, joint venture/wholly foreign-owned factory construction, and cross-border e-commerce direct supply. Different paths vary significantly in qualification requirements, process complexity, and market penetration speed, and need to be accurately selected based on product types (chilled/frozen/cooked meat), enterprise strength, and market strategy.

 

(I) General Trade Import: Mainstream Entry Path, Suitable for Standardized Frozen and Chilled Meat

General trade import is the preferred way for foreign meat enterprises to initially enter the Chinese market, especially suitable for highly standardized products with a long shelf life such as frozen beef, pork, and poultry. The core advantages of this path are low initial investment and flexible market testing, but it has a high compliance threshold and requires strict completion of the full-process control of "access assessment - qualification filing - quarantine approval - customs clearance and inspection".

 

1. Core Practical Process (Including Key Compliance Nodes)

• Preliminary Access Verification: First, confirm whether the product's country of origin and category are included in the General Administration of Customs' "List of Countries or Regions Exporting Meat Products to China That Meet the Assessment and Review Requirements and Have Traditional Trade". Products not included in the list are strictly prohibited from import. At the same time, overseas production enterprises need to complete registration with the General Administration of Customs, and domestic importers need to complete importer filing through the "Internet + Customs" platform and apply for an Import Permit for Animals and Plants and Their Products in advance (apply before signing the trade contract). Starting from June 2025, customs nationwide launched the automatic approval function for imported meat products, reducing the number of mandatory fields in the application form from 41 to 20, which greatly improved the approval efficiency.

 

• Document and Packaging Preparation: It is necessary to prepare in advance the official health certificate of the exporting country, full-item test report (including indicators such as veterinary drug residues and microorganisms), trade contract, bill of lading, packing list and other documents; the packaging must meet dual requirements: both inner and outer packaging shall indicate the country of origin, production enterprise registration number, and production batch number; the outer packaging shall be marked in Chinese with specifications, origin (specific to state/province/city), destination (must indicate the People's Republic of China), storage temperature and other information, and affixed with official inspection and quarantine marks.

 

• Customs Clearance, Inspection and Release: After the goods arrive at the designated supervision site, it is necessary to first complete the epidemic prevention and disinfection of the means of transport and containers; the customs will sequentially carry out document review, on-site inspection (verification of documents and goods, packaging labels, sensory status, core temperature, etc.), sampling and testing (taking 7-12 days), and issue the "Inspection and Quarantine Certificate for Inbound Goods" after qualification assessment before they can enter the market for circulation.

2. Case and Data Support

In September 2024, frozen mutton from Madagascar entered the Chinese market for the first time through general trade. The first batch of 50 pieces (more than 900 kilograms) of goods arrived at Hunan Hongxing Designated Inspection Site for Imported Meat. The key to the success of this import was the early completion of the country of origin access assessment and overseas enterprise registration - under the guidance of Changsha Customs, China-Madagascar Animal Husbandry (Madagascar) Co., Ltd. completed registration in China, and the full-process counseling of professional access service institutions greatly shortened the preparation cycle. Data shows that in 2024, meat imported through general trade accounted for 78% of China's total meat imports, among which Brazil, Australia, and the United States were the main supplying countries, accounting for 31%, 23%, and 16% respectively.

 

3. Cooperative Empowerment Value

chinaentryhub.com can provide full-process compliance counseling: verify the country of origin and enterprise access qualifications in advance to avoid fatal risks such as "not included in the list of countries exporting to China" and "enterprise not registered"; assist in optimizing document and packaging label design to ensure compliance with the requirements of GB7718 "National Food Safety Standard General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Food" (label issues account for 27% of the reasons for unqualified imported meat); connect with resources of designated supervision sites for imported meat and assist in tracking the progress of quarantine approval, reducing the approval cycle by more than 35% on average.

 

(II) Joint Venture/Wholly Foreign-Owned Factory Construction: In-depth Rooting Path, Suitable for Long-Term Localization Strategy

For foreign enterprises with strong financial strength and plans to deeply cultivate the Chinese market for a long time, joint venture or wholly foreign-owned factory construction is the optimal choice. This path can realize localized production, reduce tariff and transportation costs, and more accurately match the taste preferences of Chinese consumers, but it requires large initial investment, long approval cycle, and needs to overcome multiple thresholds such as land, environmental protection, and production capacity planning.

 

1. Core Practical Key Points

• Policy Compliance Threshold: The factory site selection must avoid ecological protection areas, supporting sewage treatment and cold chain warehousing facilities that meet standards must be constructed, and pass the environmental impact assessment and acceptance of the environmental protection department; the production process must comply with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and establish a full-chain quality traceability system from raw material procurement to finished product sales.

• Choice of Cooperation Mode: Joint venture factory construction can quickly penetrate with the channel resources and market experience of local enterprises (such as Shuanghui, Yurun); wholly foreign-owned factory construction has complete control rights, but it is necessary to build a supply chain and sales network independently.

• Raw Material and Production Supervision: If imported raw materials are used, relevant regulations on general trade import must be followed; if local raw materials are purchased, they must comply with China's national standards such as GB19301 "Raw Milk".

 

2. Case Analysis

Tyson Foods, a major U.S. meat company, has deeply rooted in the Chinese market through a joint venture model: in 2019, it established Tyson Shuanghui Food Co., Ltd. in a joint venture with Shuanghui Group, focusing on poultry processing and sales. Relying on Shuanghui's channel network, Tyson quickly covered supermarkets and catering channels in more than 30 provinces across the country; at the same time, it introduced Tyson's global quality management system into the joint venture factory to ensure that products meet both Chinese and U.S. standards. In 2024, the sales volume of the joint venture company reached 5.8 billion yuan, accounting for 65% of Tyson's total sales in China. A similar case is Denmark's Crown Group, which built a wholly-owned pork processing base in Shandong, realizing full localized production from slaughtering, cutting to packaging, and its market share in China increased to 4.2% in 2024.

 

3. Cooperative Empowerment Value

chinaentryhub.com can provide full-cycle consulting services for factory construction: assist in conducting policy feasibility analysis, clarify tax preferences and land policies in different regions (such as free trade zones, industrial parks); connect with high-quality local partner resources to reduce information asymmetry risks in joint venture negotiations; guide the completion of approval processes such as environmental impact assessment and production license handling, shortening the average project preparation cycle by 6-8 months.

 

(III) Cross-Border E-Commerce Direct Supply: Rapid Reach Path, Suitable for High-End Niche Meat

Cross-border e-commerce direct supply is suitable for high-end niche products such as chilled Wagyu beef, characteristic poultry, and cooked meat products. Relying on bonded warehouse or direct mail mode, it can quickly reach young consumer groups without the need to apply for a domestic food production license. However, it is limited by factors such as single-order quota and cold chain logistics capacity, making it difficult to achieve large-scale distribution.

 

1. Core Practical Specifications

It is necessary to settle in compliant cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Tmall Global and JD Worldwide. Products must comply with the quality standards of the country of origin and the regulatory requirements for cross-border e-commerce imported food in China; Chinese labels can adopt the form of "electronic labels + paper inserts", and the marked content must comply with GB7718 standards. For chilled meat, it is necessary to select logistics enterprises with cross-border cold chain qualifications to ensure that the temperature is controlled at 0-4℃ throughout the process, and complete temperature records are kept for inspection (cold chain breakage is one of the main reasons for unqualified cross-border meat, accounting for 34%).

 

2. Case and Data

Australian Wagyu brand "Rangers Valley" entered the Chinese market through Tmall Global's bonded warehouse model, directly supplying chilled Wagyu from Australian pastures to domestic consumers. Relying on the rapid customs clearance advantage of cross-border e-commerce, the delivery time was shortened to within 72 hours. In 2024, the sales volume of the brand's cross-border e-commerce channel reached 120 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42%. Data shows that in 2024, the scale of China's cross-border e-commerce imported meat reached 4.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25%, of which high-end beef and characteristic poultry accounted for more than 70%, becoming an important channel for foreign enterprises to develop niche markets.

 

3. Cooperative Empowerment Value

chinaentryhub.com can provide full-chain compliance support for cross-border e-commerce: assist in completing platform settlement qualification review and clarify cross-border e-commerce tax policies (detailed rules for tariff and value-added tax reduction and exemption); optimize cold chain logistics solutions, connect with cross-border cold chain enterprises with compliant qualifications, and establish a full-chain temperature monitoring system of "overseas warehouse - bonded warehouse - consumer"; assist in handling label compliance and traceability management to ensure compliance with the General Administration of Customs' requirements for traceability of cross-border imported food.

 

II. Core Compliance Risks and Cooperative Avoidance Strategies for Foreign Meat Products to Enter China

The core risks faced by foreign meat products entering China include: lack of access qualifications, incomplete quarantine approval, non-compliant labels, cold chain breakage, excessive microbial/veterinary drug residues, etc. According to customs data, in April 2025, a total of 325 batches of unqualified food were intercepted nationwide, of which meat accounted for 36%, and the main problems were inconsistent documents and goods, unqualified labels, and detection of diseases.

 

1. Access and Qualification Risks

Overseas enterprises that have not completed registration with the General Administration of Customs, products not included in the list of countries exporting to China, and failure to obtain an Import Permit for Animals and Plants and Their Products will all lead to the return or destruction of goods. chinaentryhub.com can provide preliminary access assessment services, verify the access status of the country of origin and enterprise registration qualifications in advance, assist in completing the quarantine approval application, and ensure that the qualification documents are complete and valid.

 

2. Label and Packaging Risks

Problems such as failure to mark the production enterprise registration number on the label, incomplete Chinese content, and inconsistency between foreign language and Chinese information account for 27% of the reasons for unqualified meat. chinaentryhub.com can provide label compliance review services, check the label content item by item against GB7718 standards, and assist in designing compliant Chinese and English labels to avoid losses caused by label problems.

 

3. Cold Chain and Testing Risks

Temperature out of control during the transportation of chilled meat is likely to cause spoilage, and frozen meat may breed microorganisms due to cold chain breakage. chinaentryhub.com can connect with compliant domestic and foreign cold chain resources to establish a full-process temperature monitoring system; at the same time, assist enterprises in conducting full-item testing in advance to avoid problems such as excessive veterinary drug residues and microorganisms.

 

III. Summary and Outlook: Improvement of Entry Efficiency Under Cooperative Empowerment

The consumption upgrading trend of China's meat market provides broad opportunities for foreign enterprises, but the strict regulatory system puts higher requirements on enterprises' compliance capabilities. The three major paths of general trade, joint venture factory construction, and cross-border e-commerce each have suitable scenarios, and foreign enterprises need to accurately select them based on their own advantages. Relying on in-depth interpretation of China's meat regulatory policies, full-process practical experience and local resource integration capabilities, chinaentryhub.com China Market Access Service Center can help foreign enterprises quickly break through core barriers such as access assessment, quarantine approval, and customs clearance and inspection, shorten the average preparation cycle for entering China by more than 40%, and reduce compliance risk losses.

 

In the future, with the further improvement of China's market opening-up level, meat import supervision will become more standardized and intelligent. Cooperating with chinaentryhub.com can not only realize "rapid access", but also help foreign enterprises achieve the transformation from "product entry into China" to "brand rooting" through continuous compliance counseling and market adaptation suggestions, occupying a place in the highly competitive Chinese meat market.