In June the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced details of new regulations aimed at reducing the number of infant formula brands sold across the country.
The rules limit registered factories in China and offshore to producing three brands and nine different products each, which will impact Australian infant formula producers such as Bellamy’s a2, Bega Cheese and Blackmores.
The rules come into effect in October and apply only to goods sold in China, not through the larger cross-border e-commerce channel, which are required to comply by the start of 2018.
Dairy Australia’s International Market Access manager, Stewart Davey, said the group was working with the industry “trying to unravel what it is that they have to do to register their brands”.
“Currently there is no application form released to be able to complete and no guidance document to give direction as to what you have to put on your form,’’ he told an Australian China Business Council Forum at the offices of Dairy Australia in Melbourne yesterday.
“They aim to release some of that documentation before the end of this month so we congratulate them on doing that.”
He said Dairy Australia had asked the federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to clarify that a transition period from October until January 2018 would apply to infant formula sold through traditional channels, as well as the e-commerce route.
“We are relatively confident there will definitely be a transition period for the traditionally distributed product as well,’’ he said.
Analysts have suggested that there are potentially around 170 domestic and foreign infant formula producers that will rush for registrations after October 1 this year. They have speculated it takes at least seven months for domestic Chinese infant formula producers to complete the registration so foreign producers are expected to take longer to allow for CFDA inspections of their facilities.
In June, a2 CEO Geoff Babidge said the company was close to having its documentation ready. But Mr Davey stressed that the Chinese regulatory environment was “rapidly changing.’’
“Be prepared that what you see and do today may not be what you have to see and do tomorrow,’’ Mr Davey said, noting three Australian infant formula producers seeking export licences have had their documentation in front of (China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration) for 15 months waiting for an audit.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/local-confusion-as-china-changes-rules-on-infant-formula/news-story/b9893888c2627f3602eae91bc826ed26