{"topic_id":"intl_kr_local_002","category":"korea-2026","context":"---\ntopic_id: intl_kr_local_002\ncategory: INTL-KR-LOCAL\ntitle: KR-LOCAL Section 2\nlang: en\nsource: korea_local.pdf\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-18\ntokens_estimated: 1938\n---\n\nAmended Notice of Import Health Requirements for Pet Food\nOn December 12, 2025, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural\nAffairs (MAFRA) amended the Notice of Import Health Requirements for Pet Food to allow an\nadditional two years’ grace period to comply with new pet food import health requirements\n(IHRs). Under the original IHRs published January 14, 2025, pet food products exported to the\nROK within the last year could continue to use their existing health certificates and a pet food\nmanufacturing facility approval by Korea was not required until December 31, 2025. The\namendment now extends this grace period until December 31, 2027.\nDuring the grace period, pet food that can meet the certification statements on the existing health\ncertificate can continue to be exported to Korea. Also, pet food manufacturing facilities\nregistered in the exporting country can continue to export pet food products to Korea without a\nfacility approval. However, this two-year grace period does not apply to pet food containing\nruminant ingredients or pet food manufacturing facilities that wish to export pet food products\ncontaining ruminant ingredients.\nThe ROK notified the proposed amendment to the WTO on November 3, 2025, as\nG/SPS/N/KOR/832, with a 30-day comment period. According to MAFRA, the reason for the\namendment is to ensure smooth operation of the new IHRs and allow additional time to approve\nmanufacturing establishments, while facilitating continued trade in pet food products already\npresent in the Korean market.\nThe ROK confirmed through the WTO comment process that new facility registrations are\npermitted during the transitional period and urged interested exporters to complete their\nmanufacturing facility registration within the grace period to ensure stable trade. During that\ntime, exports based on existing quarantine certificates are allowed in accordance with Article 4\nof the Addendum to the Import Health Requirements, provided that the facility is registered with\nthe exporting country’s government.\nUnder the new IHRs, pet food manufacturing facilities must undergo inspection by the exporting\ncountry’s government to assure compliance with Korea’s requirements. The competent authority\nof the exporting country will work with the Korean government veterinary quarantine authority\nto notify inspection results and obtain approval of pet food manufacturing facilities through onsite inspections or other methods. For the United States, the competent authority is the USDA\nAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Korea’s competent authority is the Animal\nand Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of MAFRA.\nAn unofficial English translation of the notice provided by MAFRA is attached to this report. For\nmore information on the original IHR publication, please refer to FAS Seoul’s report on Korea’s\nNew Import Health Requirements for Pet Food.\n","sources":[],"tokens_estimated":1938,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}