Vietnam – Export requirements for fish and seafood

Eligible/ineligible product

Eligible

Non-live fish
Non-live fish of any species when intended for re-processing in Vietnam and re-export to a third country
Live aquatic animals which originate from Canadian waters and which have been authorized for import by Vietnamese authorities
Salted and frozen pacific herring roe (Clupea pallasii) (HS code 030520)

Ineligible

Live aquatic animals which do not meet the above-mentioned criteria
Certain species of aquatic animals harvested in waters that are officially declared by the CFIA as infected with World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) listed diseases, and intended for local human consumption (including re-processing) in Vietnam. Examples include
- farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
- wild pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), excluding salted and frozen pacific herring roe (HS code 030520)
There may also be impacts on other species of susceptible aquatic animals. For more information on Canada's disease status see the Status of regulated aquatic animal reportable diseases and Status of regulated aquatic animal immediately notifiable diseases

Pre-export approvals by the competent authority of the importing country

Import permit

For consignments containing any live species of aquatic animals, except Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas), it is the importer's and exporter's responsibility to obtain a valid import licence or permit issued by the Vietnamese Authorities prior to import.

Except for Pacific Oyster, which can be imported into Vietnam without the need for a risk assessment or import permit, all other live aquatic animal species from Canada are required to undergo a risk assessment approval process through the General Department of Fisheries of Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) before an import permit can be issued.

Establishments

Establishments wishing to export non-live (non-viable) fish and seafood products to Vietnam must be approved and appear on the list of countries eligible to export fishery products to Vietnam (in Vietnamese only) administered by Vietnam's Department of Animal Health (DAH) prior to export.

The following definitions apply for the purpose of establishment listing with Vietnam:

Processed food means food made by the process of preparing preliminarily processed food or fresh and raw food by an industrial or manual method to create food materials or food products.
Pre-packaged food means a food completely packaged and labelled, ready for sale for further processing or instant consumption.

Processing establishments do not need to appear on Vietnam's approved list if the products to be exported are:

processed, such as cooked, blanched, steamed, smoked, dried, marinated, and/or salted and pre-packaged with proper labelling, or
for a declared purpose of further processing and re-export (not for local consumption in Vietnam)

Note: since food products imported to Vietnam (including retail-ready for home consumption and those intended for further processing or food service) are required to be pre-prepacked and labelled according to Vietnam's import requirements, establishments exporting processed products are not required to be listed. This information is unofficial and it is the exporter's responsibility to confirm with their importer and/or the Canadian embassy in Vietnam that their product does not need to appear on the list.

Only the final processing establishment is required to be approved and listed for export to Vietnam.

Cold storage facilities only storing products for export are not required to be listed.

Procedure to update the Vietnam establishment list

Establishments wishing to be added to Vietnam's list must be in compliance with Canadian regulations and be licensed under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) for the required activity and appear on the list of Canadian fish and seafood establishments approved for export. Contact your local CFIA office if your establishment is not on this list.

To request inclusion to Vietnam's list, submit the following information to your local CFIA office:

establishment identification (ID) number
Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence number
company name as it should appear on the export list. The options are
- legal name of business as it appears on the SFC licence, or
- legal name of business (operating name), or
- legal name of business (vessel name)
physical site address of the establishment. For vessel's, this should be the primary docking location

Establishments will receive additional application information from the local CFIA office after the initial request is received.
It is recommended to verify the eligibility of the product(s) you intend to export to Vietnam with your local CFIA office prior to submitting an application.

Refer to the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service webpage on Exporting live fish and seafood products from Canada to Vietnam for more information on the procedure to register a Canadian establishment with DAH.

Note: approval times by DAH are often lengthy and unpredictable. The CFIA has no control over application processing times and is unable to expedite the process for any application.

Products imported into Vietnam for further processing and subsequent export to a third market

For products with a declared purpose of further processing and re-export to a third market, establishment approval and listing with DAH is not required.

However, if the third market is the European Union (EU) or a country which has adopted the certification and import requirements in place for the EU, establishments must appear on the appropriate establishment list administered by Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG-SANTE). See European Union for more information.

Documentation requirements

Certificates

There are different documentation requirements depending on the intended use of the fish and seafood products exported to Vietnam.

For fish and seafood products for human consumption exported to Vietnam and intended for local distribution or consumption in Vietnam
1. for non-live fish, excluding salted and frozen pacific herring roe (Clupea pallasii) (HS code 030520), for human consumption
  - Certificate of Origin and Hygiene (CFIA/ACIA 5003)
  - Sanitary Certificate covering for fish and fishery products (CFIA/ACIA 5633)
  The CFIA/ACIA 5633 certificate is a Joint Certificate containing both Food Safety/Public Health AND Aquatic Animal Health attestations. Consult your CFIA inspector for any further instructions at the time of the certificate request submission.
2. for salted and frozen pacific herring roe (Clupea pallasii) (HS code 030520) for human consumption
  - Certificate of Origin and Hygiene (CFIA/ACIA 5003)
3. for live aquatic animals for human consumption
  - Certificate of Origin and Hygiene (CFIA/ACIA 5003)
  - Aquatic Animal Health Certificate (AQAH-1025)
  The exporter shall provide the Inspector with a copy or copies of any and all import licences and/or permits required to import live aquatic animal species, except Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas), into Vietnam prior to CFIA's issuance of the certificate, and provide supporting documentation such as an affidavit indicating that the exporter believes the provided import license and/or permit is valid.
for fish and seafood products exported to Vietnam for further processing and subsequent export to a third country
1. subsequent export to non-EU countries
  - Certificate of Origin and Hygiene (CFIA/ACIA 5003)
  An Additional statement/information must be included on the certificate: "This consignment is intended for further processing and re-export to a third country."
2. subsequent export to countries which follow EU requirements
  
  Additional documentation is required. Contact your local CFIA office for more information.

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