In 2021, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) released two new decrees, both of which apply to wine and wine products. The decrees mandate that, from 1 January 2022, overseas food manufacturers must register with GACC as a precursor to the products they manufacture being imported to China. All products must include relevant labelling containing the GACC issued registration number, or competent authority issued registration number, as a condition of import. Accordingly, wine production facilities handling wine exported to China should self-register through GACC's Single Window website to avoid export delays or trade disruptions.

A GACC self-registration step-by-step guide for wine producers can be found in the Importing section of the China Export Market Guide. The Labelling section of the China Export Market Guide contains information about GACC production facility registration numbers and labelling requirements.

Separate to the requirement to register production facilities, wine exporters must register with GACC via an online form. According to Decree 249, all overseas food exporters are required to submit their company information online with the Bureau of Import and Export Food Safety of GACC, and only shipments from registered companies and agents are allowed into China. A list of registered importers and exporters is available on the GACC website.

Detailed GACC exporter registration guidance can be found in the Importing section of the China Export Market Guide.

Wine exporters must comply with the China Guobiao (GB) standards, issued by the Standardization Administration of China. For example, imported wine is subject to mandatory labelling requirements (i.e. ingredient lists and sugar content on labels), and must comply with a list of approved additives and processing aids. 

Some suggestions to prevent or avoid customs violations during export are included below. 

• When providing product certificates to the importer for customs clearance and inspection, make sure the product information on the certificates is consistent with the product which is exported. 
• When designing China labels, check the contents for accuracy – especially any claims made on the label against China GB standards.
• Check the permitted food additives in wine according to China GB standards. If an additive is not listed for wine, it is not permitted to be used in the product. Pay attention to the maximum use level of the additive when it is listed for wine. 
• Compare the testing result with China GB standards before exporting. For higher risk products and testing items that approach China’s regulatory limits, consider testing according to China GB standards to avoid inconsistent results which could be due to differences in testing methods. 
• If a wine business is exporting wine to China for the first time, consider conducting a trial export of a smaller quantity to check whether there are any problems during customs clearance and inspection before exporting larger quantities. 

For more information and to stay across how to best manage these trade requirements, please refer to the Wine Standards, Labelling and Importing sections of the China Export Market Guide. 

Before exporting wine, exporters should consider gaining protection of their brand as a trade mark in the importing country. In China, the trade mark system operates on a ‘first in, first served’ basis, and trade mark protection in Australia does not provide protection in other countries. 

When contemplating exporting wine to China, it is advisable to engage a trade mark specialist to register a brand in both English and Chinese to ensure the marks are registered in the Australian business owner’s name. Consider registration of Chinese translations and transliterations where relevant.  For more information about protecting a wine brand in China, please see the IP In China | IP Australia websites below:

• What To Consider Before Applying In China | IP Australia
• How To Enforce My IP In China | IP Australia

Australian wine exporters can use the Market Access Intel Portal to report market access issues affecting exports/imports.

Reports can be made anonymously, although Wine Australia encourages contact details to be provided in case more information is needed. The information provided will be used to gain insights into the types of trade issues that are arising and will help Wine Australia to address them in a methodical and coordinated matter, with assistance from the Australian Government (e.g. in-market representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) as necessary. 

Please note that matters concerning intellectual property are not within Wine Australia‘s remit, and such issues should not be reported through the portal.

Wine Australia’s Interactive Insights dashboards provide a range of interactive tools to assist with business decision-making, including the Export Dashboard and the Market Explorer business planning tool.

Wine Australia is coordinating a number of in-market opportunities across the Asia-Pacific markets including:

• Japan and Korea Market Briefing – 10 April 2024
• Taste the Wonders of Australia Gala, Indonesia – 22 May 2024
• China Roadshow – August 2024 
• Australian Wine Grand Tasting, Seoul – September 2024
• Australian Wine Trade Tasting, Tokyo – September 2024
• Prowine Mumbai – 8-9 November 2024
• Prowine Shanghai – 12-14 November 2024 

Please note: the GACC registration requirements mentioned above are a prerequisite for participation in Wine Australia’s China Roadshow and Prowine Shanghai.

More information about these activities, including registration, is expected to be available in the coming week. 

On 28 March 2024, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that the anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on imports of Australian still wine (in containers of 2 litres or less) for five years, from 26 March 2021, are no longer necessary.
 

Australia and China agreed that Australia would suspend the dispute on wine in the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a maximum period of five months while the review was underway. Given the duties have been removed, the dispute will not resume in the WTO.

Please direct media enquiries to Lee McLean, the CEO of Australian Grape & Wine via email (lee@agw.org.au) or phone (0418 998 749). Australian Grape & Wine is the declared winemakers and grapegrowers organisation.

We are aware that some exporters of wine are facing significant delays at the border in China. In the first instance, exporters should work with their importers and customs broker to resolve customs clearance issues.

Australian wine exporters can contact exports@wineaustralia.com or use Wine Australia’s Market Access Intel Portal to report market access issues affecting exports/imports.

Reports can be made anonymously, although Wine Australia encourages contact details to be provided in case more information is needed. The information provided will be used to gain insights into the types of trade issues that are arising and will help Wine Australia to address them in a methodical and coordinated manner with assistance from the Australian Government (e.g. in-market representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) as necessary.

Please note that matters concerning intellectual property are not within Wine Australia‘s remit, and such issues should not be reported through the portal.

Wine Australia's updated Export Market Guide – China provides regulatory information regarding exporting wine to China, including the regulatory environment, importation requirements (e.g. mandatory GACC self-registration), duties, taxes, and wine standards. 

Export Market Guides are free for wine exporters and levy payers.