With an increasing number of factories moving to China, importation of cargoes into China is becoming more common. What follows are some useful tips for China’s importation requirements for wooden packaging materials.

In order to fulfil the requirements for importing into China, Mr. Chan has sent his cargo packed in wooden crates for fumigation and has obtained a fumigation certificate from the fumigation company. After that, Mr. Chan sent all relevant documents together with the fumigation certificate to the corresponding department of the Chinese government for approval of importation. Quite beyond Mr. Chan’s expectations, it took 3 months for him to get the approval needed to import his cargo into China as the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) stamps were incorrectly applied to the wooden packaging materials by the fumigation company.

What can Mr. Chan do to prevent this from happening again?

The Chinese government will check the details of the fumigation certificate for each importation. According to Notice No. 84 issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of China on 1st January 2006, the importation requirements for wooden packaging materials include:

• All wooden materials which make up a shipping package must be fumigated/treated according to the IPPC by the agents whom are certified by the government of the country from which the goods were exported
• IPPC stamps should be placed on the wooden materials/packaging materials by the abovementioned agents
• The treatment and the stamps should also conform to AQSIQ requirements
  (Please refer to the link for details of requirements: http://asqiq.gov.cn)

In order to smoothen the inspection process by the Chinese government, customers are advised to prepare the fumigation certificate and IPPC stamps properly. This will not only ensure that the cargo arrives at the destination on time, it will also help shorten storage time in Hong Kong and, as a result, reduce the storage cost and cargo insurance premium. If, unfortunately, customers need to extend the storage period during transshipment, they are advised to inform their cargo insurer immediately so that their cargo insurance cover can be extended.

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