Vietnam Customs seized 25 boxes containing 500 kg of sturgeon brought illegally through China, the agency announced April 28 via its news operation CustomsNews. The individual caught with the shipment said he bought the sturgeons from China, then was hired to transport them to Vietnam. The confiscations took place April 24 at the Po Hen Border Guard Station.
Australia simplified its rules for its Export Market Development Grants program to help small and medium-sized companies more easily access export funding, the country said April 28. The new rules will feature a “simpler” application process with less frequent submissions and a new online application portal. The simplified program will help exports better “compete and succeed internationally,” Dan Tehan, Australia’s trade minister, said in a statement.
China's General Administration of Customs published phytosanitary requirements for pomegranates from Uzbekistan in an April 25 customs notice, according to an unofficial translation. To be properly exported to China, the pomegranate orchards, packaging plants and cold storage facilities need to be registered jointly with the Chinese customs agency and Uzbekistan's State Plant Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.
China’s customs authority recently revised its administrative provisions and registration procedures for “overseas manufacturers of imported foods,” the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported April 28. The revisions, which take effect Jan. 1, will require all overseas manufacturing, processing and storage entities that export food to China to register with China’s General Administration of Customs. That registration will be valid for five years, HKTDC said. Registration renewal applications may be submitted to the agency within three to six months before the expiration date.
China's General Administration of Customs announced a ban of imports of poultry and related products from Mali due to an outbreak of avian influenza, an April 26 customs notice said, according to an unofficial translation. All inbound transportation vehicles containing poultry from Mali will be immediately sealed for storage and may not be opened, the notice said.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade placed restrictions on the import of mosquito killer rackets and melon seeds in two April 26 trade notices. Mosquito killer rackets, or electrical or electric “zapper” devices, of Harmonized System codes 85167920 and 85167990 will no longer be allowed in the country if the cost, insurance and freight value is below 121 rupees per racket; and melon seeds of HS code 12077090 are now subject to Policy Condition 4 of chapter 12 of ITC. The policy condition is as follows: “Import permitted for sowing without a licence subject to the new Policy on Seed Development, 1988 and in accordance with import permit granted under Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Imports into India) Order, 2003.”
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka committed to banning the import of chemical fertilizers due to pollution and human health concerns, his office announced in an April 22 news release. The negative consequences for lakes, canals, groundwater and the spread of non-communicable diseases outweigh the usefulness of fertilizing for farming, Rajapaksa said, according to the release. “To produce a healthy and productive citizenry, the government must ensure the right of the people to access a non-toxic and balanced diet. President Rajapaksa said that measures will be taken to ensure that only organic fertilizer would be used in the agriculture sector in the country in the future,” the statement read. Rajapaksa made the commitment at a meeting with heads of state corporations and statutory boards.
India's Director General of Foreign trade went live with a COVID-19 help desk for international trade items, the agency announced in an April 26 trade notice. The help desk will be used to monitor the status of exports and imports and "difficulties being faced by trade stakeholders" relating to a recent rise of coronavirus cases in the nation. It can assist with matters including licensing issues, customs clearance delays, import/export documentation issues and banking problems.
China is waiving import duties for importers of certain civil aviation maintenance equipment through 2030, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported April 23. The measure, announced last month, will exempt import duties from aviation manufacturers, companies and airlines when they import aviation maintenance equipment that “domestic producers cannot produce or meet performance requirements on,” HKTDC said. China’s customs authorities will also “no longer carry out follow-up supervision of goods” on those exempted imports.
China temporarily suspended poultry imports from a region in Bolivia due to an outbreak of Newcastle disease, an April 19 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. All illegal poultry products from La Paz, Bolivia, will be returned or destroyed, China said.