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Exporting pet food from South Korea

In South Korea, animal feed, including pet food with animal-origin ingredients, is a designated quarantine object. Exporting it needs quarantine by an Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency officer and a certificate, unless the importing country requires none. The Feed Act does not apply to feed specified by MAFRA decree made for export. Exports are declared to customs.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Quarantine authority
Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA, 농림축산검역본부)
Designated object
Animal feed, including pet food with animal ingredients
Export quarantine
To the importing country's standards (Article 41)
Feed Act
Not applied to feed specified by MAFRA decree made for export
Export declaration
To the head of a customs office (Customs Act)

Before the goods leave

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Does the importing country allow the product from Korea, and on what sanitary conditions? Read more
  2. 2Does the pet food contain animal-origin ingredients that make it a designated quarantine object? Read more
  3. 3Is the factory or store a designated place of quarantine, or will the goods go to APQA's? Read more
  4. 4Is the feed one MAFRA's decree lists as made for export, outside the Feed Act? Read more
  5. 5Is the export declaration ready, with the quarantine certificate customs will check? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Export quarantine and the certificate

Feed and feed ingredients at risk of spreading animal disease are quarantined before export under the Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases.

  • Designated objects for export and import quarantine include livestock feed and ingredients of livestock feed at risk of spreading the pathogens of contagious animal diseases (Article 31(3), Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases (가축전염병 예방법)).
  • APQA lists animal feed, such as pet food containing animal-origin ingredients, among the designated objects, together with meat and bone meal and feather meal.
  • A person exporting a designated object goes through quarantine by a quarantine officer, unless the importing country does not require it (Article 41(1)); quarantine follows the importing country's standards and methods (Article 41(3)).
  • Quarantine takes place at APQA's place of quarantine, or at a processing plant or store APQA designates because it has the facilities and equipment needed (Article 42).
  • A certificate of quarantine is issued if no pathogen is found (Article 41(5)); APQA advises obtaining it before shipment.
  • APQA: a first export may need sanitary conditions and a certificate format agreed between the two governments.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the quarantine application, the importing country's conditions and the certificate with each shipment, dated, and reads the certificate against what the destination asks for. Ask about this

Feed made for export

Where the Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act stops for exported feed.

  • The Act does not apply where a manufacturer produces feed specified by Ministerial Decree of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for export purposes (Article 4, Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act (사료관리법)).
  • Which feed that covers is set by the decree; feed outside it stays under the Act's registration and labelling rules.
  • MAFRA may support feed-related organisations in exporting feed (Article 5).

How we help: Compliant Always records whether each pet food is made under the Feed Act or as export-only feed, with the documents behind it. Ask about this

Export declaration to customs

The Customs Act declaration for goods leaving Korea, and the checks customs makes on it.

  • A person who intends to export goods declares their names, standards, quantities and values, and other matters set by Presidential Decree, to the head of a customs office (Article 241(1), Customs Act).
  • The declaration is filed in the name of the owner of the goods or a licensed customs broker; an export declaration may also be filed in the name of the manufacturer that supplied the goods to the owner (Article 242).
  • For personal effects, consignments, unaccompanied goods and postal items, the declaration may be omitted or simplified as Presidential Decree prescribes (Article 241(2)).
  • Goods needing a permit, approval or label under other statutes at export are checked by customs for it at clearance (Article 226).
  • Korea Customs Service (KCS): the declaration goes to the customs office with jurisdiction over the place where the goods are stored, and customs may review documents or inspect the goods.
  • Goods are loaded onto the means of transport within 30 days of the declaration being accepted, extendable up to one year; otherwise acceptance may be revoked (Article 251).
  • KCS: a false declaration, or export without one, may be punished as a false report, smuggling or price manipulation under the Customs Act.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the invoice, packing details and permits behind each declaration with the shipment and lot, dated, and shows what is missing before the goods are declared. Ask about this

Origin marking and certificates of origin

Marking origin on goods, certificates of origin for exported goods, and proving origin to claim a free trade agreement rate in the destination.

  • Goods the Minister has publicly announced as subject to origin marking are marked when exported or imported; false or misleading marks are prohibited (Article 33, Foreign Trade Act).
  • A certificate of origin for exported goods is applied for under Article 37 of the Foreign Trade Act, on payment of a fee.
  • Under a free trade agreement, a certificate of origin is either issued by an agency after it verifies the origin, or prepared and signed by the exporter, producer or importer, as the agreement provides (Article 11, FTA Customs Act).
  • An approved exporter certified by KCS may prove origin itself and use simplified procedures where the agreement allows (Article 12).
  • An exporter or producer that finds an error in a document evidencing origin notifies the customs office and the importer (Article 14); documents evidencing origin are kept for up to five years, or longer where the agreement says so (Article 15).
  • KCS issues a Certificate of Non-Manipulation for goods in transit or stored in a bonded area, used to show direct consignment under an FTA.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps origin workings, certificates and supplier declarations with the shipment, dated, and reads them against what the destination asks for. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ExporterThe quarantine application, the importing country's requirements and the export declaration.Applications, certificates and declarations kept with each shipment, dated.
ManufacturerMaking the pet food to the destination's conditions and, where designated, running a place of quarantine.Specifications and process records ready for the quarantine officer.
APQA quarantine officerInspecting the goods and issuing the export quarantine certificate.Certificates read against what the destination asks for.
Customs broker or forwarderFiling the export declaration and loading within 30 days of acceptance.The documents behind each declaration in one record.

Where are the goods going?

Most of what pet food have to meet is set where they are sold. Each guide sets out the rules on arrival, with the official source for each.

Questions businesses ask

Does pet food need a health certificate to leave South Korea?
Pet food containing animal-origin ingredients is a designated quarantine object. Exporting it needs quarantine by an APQA officer, and a certificate is issued if no pathogen is found, unless the importing country requires no quarantine (Article 41, Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases).
Whose standards does the export quarantine follow?
The importing country's government's standards and methods, or the importer's where the government sets none (Article 41(3), Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases).
Can quarantine take place at my factory?
Yes, if APQA designates it. Export quarantine may be done at a processing plant or store meeting the facility and equipment requirements, designated by the head of the animal quarantine agency (Article 42).
Can I export pet food to a new country straight away?
Not always. APQA notes a first export may need sanitary conditions and a certificate format agreed between the Korean government and the importing country's government, and advises checking first whether the country bans the product.
Does the Feed Act apply to pet food made only for export?
Not to feed specified by MAFRA decree that a manufacturer produces for export (Article 4, Control of Livestock and Fish Feed Act). Other feed stays under the Act.
When should the certificate be issued?
Before shipment. APQA notes many countries do not accept animal health certificates issued after shipment, and loading is checked against the certificate.
Does customs check the quarantine certificate?
Goods subject to the Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases are on KCS's list of goods needing confirmation of export requirements at clearance (Article 226, Customs Act; KCS Export Declaration Guideline).
Can my buyer claim a free trade agreement rate on Korean pet food?
If it meets the agreement's origin rules. A certificate of origin is issued by an agency or prepared by the exporter, producer or importer, as the agreement provides (Article 11, FTA Customs Act).
How does Compliant Always help with exporting from South Korea?
Our team reads the rules for the routes you ship. Compliant Always shows which export documents apply to your product, keeps them with the shipment beside what the destination asks for, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

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