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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.

As the fifth largest country export market for the United States, Korea provides a promising market for U.S. agricultural products. In 2023, Korea imported about $47 billion agricultural & related products from all over the world and the U.S...

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.

On July 1, 2024, the United States and Republic of Korea agreed to the labeling requirements outlined in this report regarding storage state for U.S. red meat and poultry products and U.S. processed red meat, poultry, egg, and dairy products.

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

This report outlines specific requirements for food and agricultural product imports into the Republic of South Korea. Updates to the 2024 FAIRS Country Report are included in Sections I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, X and Appendix II.

This report includes technical information and certificate requirements for food and agricultural product exports to the Republic of South Korea.

On December 26, 2023, Korea issued its flexible tariff Adjustment and Tariff Rate Quota list for certain agricultural, forestry and fishery products for calendar year (CY) 2024.