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On October 30, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) extended over 220 voluntary tariff suspensions announced following the 2021 and 2023 application periods, through June 30, 2026. The announcement synchronizes multiple expiration periods...

Due to recent recalls by Hong Kong authorities of food products containing ethylene oxide (ETO), ATO Hong Kong reminds all U.S. exporters that ETO is not permitted in food products for sale in Hong Kong.

On August 13, the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety (CFS) confirmed to ATO Hong Kong that effective February 14, 2025, the Special Autonomous Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will transition from a “systems-based” approach to recognizing foreign meat and poultry establishments to an “establishment or plant-based” registration system.

This report provides guidelines on Hong Kong’s food import regulations.

Hong Kong does not have any certification changes for food imports since the last report submitted in July 2023. This report lists the certificates required by the Hong Kong Government (HKG) for U.S. agricultural and food exports to Hong Kong. Certificate samples are included in the appendix.

Hong Kong classifies ground meat as prohibited meat under its food legislation. Importers are required to secure a permit from Hong Kong authorities to allow the entry of U.S. meat shipments prior to arrival at Hong Kong’s port.

In 2023, the Hong Kong economy grew 3.2 percent year-on-year, slower than the government’s economic forecast. The economy has not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels due to weak domestic consumption and lagging challenges in the import and export trade.

The UK food and drink industry has faced multiple challenges in recent years, including COVID-19, cost-of-living, and adverse weather conditions. Wet weather in the UK has resulted in a significant decrease in harvests, particularly for crops like wheat, barley, and oilseed rape.

A batch of U.S. frozen confectionary was almost rejected at Hong Kong’s port of entry due to an erroneously formatted health certificate.

On March 12, the United Kingdom (UK) government announced a public consultation on ‘Fairer Food Labeling.’ The consultation seeks feedback for two proposals on food labeling regulations: (1) on labeling pertaining to country of origin, and (2), on animal welfare labeling relating to methods of production.

The United Kingdom (UK) recently announced a number of voluntary tariff suspensions for agricultural and non-agricultural products, including around 70 new agricultural product suspensions.

On January 31, the United Kingdom published draft regulations expanding the “not for EU” label beyond Northern Ireland (NI) to apply to Great Britain (GB) - England, Scotland and Wales.