The export of fresh-cut flowers represents a significant segment of China’s agricultural trade. Effective quarantine supervision and quality assurance are critical to enhancing the international competitiveness of relative exporting enterprises. This article explains key procedures and requirements for exporting fresh-cut flowers, in accordance with current policies.
I. Definition of Fresh-cut Flowers
Fresh-cut flowers, commonly referred to as cut flowers, are plant materialssuch as stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits, harvested from living plants for ornamental purposes. They are categorized into cut flowers, cut foliage, and cut branches.
II. Regulatory Requirements for Exporters of Fresh-cut Flowers
(I) Where the importing country requires registration of enterprises exporting seedlings and flowers, the exporter must apply for and obtain registration as a producer, processor, or storage facility handling specific animals, plants, their products, or other quarantine items.
(II) Enterprises shall comply with all relevant requirements, including but not limited to plant quarantine stipulations, food safety and hygiene testing standards of the importing country and region, as well as any phytosanitary provisions stipulated in the laws and regulations of both the importing country or region and China, bilateral quarantine agreements, or trade contracts.
III. Specific Registration Requirements
(I) Requirementsfor Planting Base
(1) Phytosanitary requirements specified by both China and the importing country or region must be met.
(2) No major plant disease outbreaks or significant quality and safety incidents should have occurred in the past two years.
(3) A well-documented quality management system must be established, covering materials concerning organizational structure, personnel training, pest monitoring and control, agrochemical usage management, good agricultural practices and the traceability system.
(4) Establish and maintain planting archives that document, in detail, the source and traceable pathway of seedings and flowers, planting and harvesting schedules, pest monitoring and control activities, as well as all other essential daily operations.
(5) Designate full-time or part-time plant protection officers responsible for pestmonitoring, prevention and controlwithin the base.
(6) Any special registration requirements specified in bilateral agreements, protocols, or laws and regulations for registration of importing countries or regions must also be met.
(II) Requirements for Processing, Packaging, and Storage Facilities
(1) The facility must maintain clean premises with dedicated raw material storage and finished goods warehouses meeting preservation standards for seedlings and flowers.
(2) There are clearly segregated functional zones for receiving, processing, treatment, and storage with proper layout, physically separated from living quarters at appropriate distances.
(3) The facility must be equipped with quarantine-compliant facilities for washing, processing, pest and disease control, as well as necessary disinfection.
(4) The water sources and agricultural chemicals used for processing seedlings and flowers must comply with hygiene and environmental standards of both China and the importing countryandregion.
(5) A comprehensive quality management system must be implemented, covering epidemic prevention measures during processing, packaging, storage and transportation of seedings and flowers, emergency response protocols, and staff training.
(6) Maintain complete records of sourcing and sales, ensuring full traceability of all seedling and flower products throughout the supply chain.
(7) Packaging materials for export seedlings and flowersmust be clean and sanitary. Reuse of such materials is strictly prohibited. Shipping cartons must be labeled with the product name, quantity, registration number of the enterprise, production batch number, and other relevant information.
(8) Full-time or part-time plant protection officers must be designated to ensure the implementation of epidemic prevention measures, maintain quality and safety control, and perform self-inspection of finished goods at all stages, from the acceptance of raw materials through their processing, packaging, and storage.
(9) The facility must possess planting bases with adequate production capacity of seedings and flowers to meet its processing needs or maintain established supply agreements with such registered planting bases.
(10) Compliance must also be ensured with any specificphytosanitary provisionsstipulated in bilateral quarantine agreements or trade contracts.
IV. Quarantine and Supervision
(I) Customs authorities shall conduct regular epidemiological surveys and monitoring at flower production bases to track the occurrence of pests and diseases during the production process, and shall promptly prescribe appropriate control and eradication measures.
(II) Fresh-cut flowers intended for export must be sourced exclusively from registered production bases. Customs shall exercise supervision over the post-harvest processing, packaging, and storage phases. Finished cut flowers must be free from defects including rotten blooms or foliage, stem rot, or disease spots, and must be free of live pests. They shall be packaged in wrapping paper, with shipping cartons free of live pests, soil, grass stems, wood chips, and other impurities; they must be stored separately from other floral products, with tags displaying the harvest, processing completion, and warehouse entry times, along with quantity and weight. The storage temperature must be maintained between 4°C and 6°C, with proper records maintained.
V. Declaration and Certification
Electronic ledger for the export of fresh-cut flowers shall be declared to the Customs authority at the place of the production or processing enterprise. Customs will perform territorial inspection and testing in accordance with targeting instructions. For consignments that pass inspection and quarantine, Customs shall, upon application by the enterprise, issue the Phytosanitary Certificate and other requisite documents. Non-compliant consignments may undergo effective remedial treatment followed by re-inspection and quarantine. Where no effective treatment method is available, Customs shall issue an Export Goods Rejection Notice, prohibiting the shipment from exporting. Fresh-cut flowers that have successfully passed inspection and quarantine are eligible for Customs declaration and export through any port nationwide.
VI. Customs Territorial Inspection Reform Initiatives
(I) Remote Video Inspection
Focusing on institutional innovation, diversified supervision models, and technology-enabled smart regulation, Customs has developed a dedicated platform for remote video inspection operations. Frontline Customs officials are equipped with 5G-enabled, portable inspection devices while enterprises collaborate via the "Single Window Mobile" APP or other compatible devices such as mobile phones or other front-end devices to complete inspection procedures. The platform combined with the enterprise-based APP, supports real-time, two-way audio-video communication, which facilitates the documentation of key inspection steps through photos and comprehensive video recording, enabling an intelligent inspection process.
(II) Batch-based Inspection (Quarantine)
Aligning with the specific characteristics of product quality, safety, quarantine and supervision, this measure decouples the“inspection (quarantine) batch” from the “Customs declaration batch”. In this context, a scientific and precise conformity assessment of product quality and safety is conducted per “inspection (quarantine) batch”, thereby establishing a “Batch Inspection Unit”. For instance, for export of fresh-cut flowers, guided by relevant laws and regulations and considering product growth characteristics, the “Five Identical” principle may be applied. Underthe principle, a “Batch Inspection Unit” for quarantine and supervision shall be defined as products originating from the same production and processing enterprise, utilizing the same batch of raw and auxiliary materials, produced and packaged under consistent production techniques, quality control systems, and inspection standards/quarantine requirements, and intended for export to the same destination country (region) or representing a specified product quantity.For the first export shipment of a given “Batch Inspection Unit”, Customs shall conduct a 100% on-site inspection and quarantine, releasing the goods only upon compliance. For subsequent shipments from the same “Batch Inspection Unit” that trigger an on-site inspection instruction, Customs will perform only a documentary verification, waiving the physical re-inspection.
(III) Integrated “Batch Inspection (Quarantine)” + “Remote Video Inspection”
Enterprises that have participated in the two preceding reforms, along with their designated products, shall be subject to an additional assessment to be selected as candidates for the integrated pilot program. Customs Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certified enterprises are prioritized for the selection, leveraging the synergistic effects of the combined policy measures.
(By Huang Maolong and Duan Getao)
Disclaimer:The above content is translated from Chinese version of China Inspection and Quarantine Times. The China Inspection and Quarantine Times version shall prevail.