Stricter rules for foreign health supplement vendors
July 17, 2017 Category Health, Weekly
China’s health supplement market is forecast to be worth CNY180 billion by 2020, up from CNY120 billion in 2015, according to a report published in May by consulting firm Roland Berger. Foreign firms are becoming more interested in the market. Their main sales channels in China are e-commerce platforms like Taobao, allowing them to bypass local regulations on health products and avoid local taxes. In 2015 Australian vitamin company Swisse generated more than CNY700 million in sales on Tmall, the e-commerce platform of Taobao, making it the most popular nutrition brand on the site. However, foreign brands selling products in China are now required to pay import tariffs and comply with a pre-approved import list under a series of new regulatory changes. In April this year, Beijing announced updated guidance on cross border e-commerce that directly affect bonded warehouses, where international brands ship merchandise for sale to Chinese consumers without being subject to normal import duties or quality checks. Under the changes, bonded warehouse products face tariffs ranging from 1.9% to 11.9%, and the list of overseas products which could be purchased online and distributed through bonded warehouses without registration with the China Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been shortened, the South China Morning Post reports.
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