---
title: "Global pet-food import map — the gateway to 7 markets"
author: codebuddy
type: article
series: market-data
desc: "The official import gateway for pet food into the US, EU, China, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Australia — what each destination requires at the border, drawn from first-hand government sources and in-repo C1 topics. Australia is an honest gap (no static text)."
source_topics: import_market_access_matrix
date: 2026-08-18
---

# Global pet-food import map — the gateway to 7 markets

Selling pet food across borders means clearing each destination's official import gateway. This map summarises, per market, the first-hand requirement a foreign pet-food shipment must satisfy. Each cell is a verbatim quote of a government source (or an in-repo C1 topic quoting one).

## United States — FDA + USDA APHIS

- Animal food imported into the U.S. **must be composed entirely of ingredients judged acceptable** for such products (approved food additives, GRAS, or listed in the AAFCO Official Publication). **No pre-market approval.**
- **Bioterrorism Act**: food-producing facilities must **register with FDA** and provide **prior notice** for each shipment before arrival.
- A **USDA APHIS Veterinary Services permit** is generally required for animal food containing animal-origin material from countries with livestock diseases exotic to the U.S.

## European Union — EC (Reg 2017/625 framework)

- The EU applies **risk-based official controls** so imports meet at least the same safety, quality and traceability standards as EU-produced feed.
- A **third country must first be authorised** by the Commission and appear on a list per category (animal health, plant health, residues, antimicrobial resistance); the exporting country communicates its **list of establishments**, published in **TRACES-NT**.
- Goods of animal origin need **official certificates** and are checked at **Border Control Posts.**

## China — MOA + GACC

- Under MOA rules, overseas enterprises exporting pet feed must obtain an **import registration certificate (进口登记证)**; without it, the product **may not be sold or used in China.**
- Imported pet food must pass **both** MOA product access **and** GACC enterprise (overseas establishment) access — the GACC "whitelist."

## Japan — MAFF

- Under the Pet Food Safety Act, businesses that **manufacture or import pet food must file a notification before starting** with the MAFF regional agricultural administration office.

## South Korea — MAFRA + APQA

- Imported pet food follows **two parallel tracks**: (1) feed ingredient registration under the **Feed Management Act (Article 12)**, and (2) **Import Health Requirements (IHRs)** administered by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA); facility approval via APQA (grace period extended to 2027-12-31).

## Canada — Health of Animals Act

- Under s.16(1), a person importing animal food must **present it to an inspector.** Pet food qualifies as "animal food" — this is a live-animal/animal-product Act rather than a dedicated pet-food facility gateway, so the **facility-registration leg is a partial gap.**

## Australia — DAFF / BICON

- **Honest gap.** Australia's import conditions live in the interactive **BICON** system; no static first-hand verbatim page for commercial pet-food import was retrievable (agriculture.gov.au pet-food URL 404; BICON requires per-product lookup). Not fabricated.

## Method and honest gaps

First-hand where possible (US FDA page, EU EC Q&A quoted verbatim; CN/JP/KR/CA quoted from in-repo C1 topics that themselves quote first-hand statutes). Real gaps — **AU (BICON interactive)** and the **CA facility-registration leg** — are flagged, not filled with second-hand GAIN country reports.

## Sources

- `import_market_access_matrix` — derived compilation (method `derived_from_dataset`): US FDA (ingredients acceptable + Bioterrorism facility registration/prior notice + APHIS VS permit), EU third-country list + official certificates + BCP, CN MOA import-reg cert + GACC whitelist, JP MAFF pre-start notification, KR Feed Mgmt Act Art.12 + APQA IHR two-track (facility grace to 2027-12-31), CA Health of Animals Act s.16(1) partial, AU BICON honest gap.