II. Introduction of process for dairy products export to Japan
Before exporting dairy products to Japan, it is necessary to check whether the exported dairy products are in the quarantine list or not. Before 2017, Japan only designated raw milk in the dairy product quarantine list. Since 2017, some dairy products have been added to the animal product quarantine list.
We hereby take Chinese enterprises as an example. Enterprises exporting quarantinable dairy products to Japan shall firstly obtain Heath Certificate or Veterinary Certificate, issued by the General Administration of Chinese Customs, on which shall record the items specified in "livestock sanitary condition". The livestock sanitary conditions shall be negotiated in advance by Chinese Customs and Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the form of agreement between countries, and the sanitary inspection certificate shall be agreed upon.
There are two types of livestock health conditions, countries that allowed to exported raw and unheated dairy products to Japan (listed countries) and countries not allowed to export raw and unheated dairy products to Japan (non-listed countries). China is a non-listed country, thus Chinese dairy products exporting to Japan must go through the inactivation process of aftosa virus.
The following list contains the Japanese HS codes for dairy products subject/not subject to animal quarantine. The list is for reference only and need to be verified again upon exporting.
Type of Dairy products subject to quarantine (HS CODE) :
0401 (milk, cream, etc.),
0402 (milk, cream, etc.),
0403 (butter milk),
0404 (whey, etc.),
0405 (butter, etc.),
0406 (cheese, etc.),
3502.20/3502.90 (milk albumin, raw milk and dairy products),
2309.10/2309.90 (raw milk and dairy based feed/pet food products, etc.).
Dairy products not subject to quarantine:
Ice cream,
infant formula milk powder,
preserved milk at room temperature (LL milk),
fermented milk,
lactobacillus beverage,
unsweetened condensed milk,
unsweetened skim condensed milk,
processed cheese and dairy products with the final product HS CODE as non-quarantine object dairy products. For example, frozen pizza (HS CODE 1905) coated with natural cheese (HS CODE 0406). In addition, canned, bottled, container packaged food after heating sterilization which can be preserved at long-term period under room temperature are exempt from animal quarantine.
The import process of dairy products subject to quarantine in Japan is divided into three steps: animal quarantine, import declaration and tariff payment. The detailed process is as follows:
(1) Animal quarantine: The importer shall submit the quarantine application, sanitary inspection certificate issued by the government of the exporting country, invoice, packing list, bill of landing and other documents to the animal quarantine office under the jurisdiction of the port of destination at latest one day before the on-site inspection of animal quarantine. According to the specific situation, product specifications, production process and other documents may also be required. The animal quarantine office shall issue the import quarantine certificate after examination over submitted documents, on-site inspection and precise laboratory inspection (if necessary). Those failed quarantine inspection shall be discarded or returned.
(2) After the animal quarantine inspection, import declaration should be made in the quarantine office. The quarantine office shall examine the import declaration documents, and if the products are judged to be qualified after passing the inspection, it shall issue the Declaration Certificate of imported Food and other products.
(3) Submit the Declaration Certificate of imported Food and other Products to the customs, and the goods can be moved out of the bonded area for circulation after paying taxes.
Conclusion: Although Japan has lifted the import restriction of dairy products, it can import dairy products freely in principle, but in order to protect the Japanese dairy industry, the import of bulk dairy products is controlled by the state, and the liberalized varieties are subject to high tariffs. To sum up, there is little space for exporting dairy products to Japan, but ice cream and other liberalized varieties can be exported. Before exporting, we should fully consider the demand of the Japanese market to determine the export varieties.