Importing Brazilian food to China

China is Brazil's largest single-country buyer of beef and a fast-growing market for poultry and pork. Every foreign food manufacturer exporting to China must be registered with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) via the CIFER system under Decree 248. Meat and poultry plants additionally require a bilateral protocol negotiated between MAPA (Brazil) and GACC.

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Competent authorities

GACC
Customs authority, plant registration (Decree 248), import inspection
CIFER
China Import Food Enterprises Registration online portal
SAMR
Standards and labelling enforcement for retail-packaged food

Ports of entry

Shanghai (Yangshan / Waigaoqiao) (CNSHA)
Largest reefer hub; bonded cold-storage capacity; SIPG terminals.
Ningbo-Zhoushan (CNNGB)
Secondary deep-water port serving Zhejiang industrial belt.
Qingdao (CNTAO)
Primary northern reefer gateway for the Shandong meat-processing cluster.

Required documentation

•GACC import filing with CIFER plant registration number on every carton
•Bilingual (Chinese/English) SIF Health Certificate per MAPA-GACC protocol
•Bilingual commercial invoice and packing list
•Bill of Lading
•Certificate of Origin (China-Mercosur preference does not yet apply; standard COO required)
•Certificate of Analysis including pathogen panel and veterinary drug residues
•Importer's record-filing receipt with GACC

Indicative lead times from Santos

Santos → Shanghai (via Cape of Good Hope)32–38 days
Santos → Ningbo (via Singapore transhipment)34–40 days
Customs/CIQ clearance window5–10 working days after arrival

Tariffs & taxes

MFN duties: frozen beef typically 12%, frozen chicken cuts 20%, frozen pork 12% (subject to periodic provisional rates), refined sugar inside TRQ 15% / outside-quota up to 50%. VAT of 9% on most foodstuffs is collected at import.

Product-specific notes

Frozen beef
Boneless cuts from GACC-approved plants only; chilled beef requires a separate protocol; vacuum-packed in master cartons with CIFER code.
Frozen chicken
Chicken paws (feet) are the highest-value SKU; halal not required; tariffs vary by HS subheading.
Frozen pork
Pork shoulder, belly and offal in strong demand; plants must be on the bilateral Brazil-China pork list.
Sugar & edible oils
Sugar imports controlled by TRQ administered by NDRC; soybean oil under separate quota and licence regime.

References

Other country guides