Can I send food to China?
Yes, with conditions.
Sealed, shelf-stable food, taxed at 13%. No meat, dairy, eggs, fresh produce, or uncanned bird's nest.
For every Onvoyo box: Only sealed, shop-bought, shelf-stable food. Express couriers don't carry perishable food: nothing fresh, frozen, meat, dairy or produce.
More rules for China
Not allowed
- Meat and meat products, raw or cooked, including offal, and raw seafood
- Milk and dairy products, including cheese, butter, cream, and condensed milk
- Eggs and egg products, including preserved and salted eggs and mayonnaise
- Fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh cut flowers, tobacco leaf, and seeds, seedlings, or other plant material that can grow
- Bird's nest (unless commercially sterilized and canned), and animal-origin feed, fertilizer, and traditional medicine ingredients
Allowed with conditions
- Food
- Only sealed, shelf-stable food outside the quarantine ban, taxed at 13%. Seafood is allowed only if dried, cooked, or made into a fermented sauce. No meat, dairy, eggs, fresh produce, or uncanned bird's nest.
Before you ship to China
- Tax-free limit
- There is no value-based duty-free limit. Instead, if the tax due on a personal parcel is RMB 50 (about $7) or less, customs waives it. Each parcel taxed as personal articles must be worth RMB 2,000 (about $296) or less, unless it holds a single indivisible item that customs accepts is for personal use. The old limits of RMB 1,000 per parcel, and RMB 800 from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, ended on December 1, 2024.
- Receiver ID
- Chinese resident ID card number, or passport number for foreigners needed. When an express carrier declares a personal-articles parcel, it must give customs a copy of the receiver's identity document along with the declaration and waybill. Collect the receiver's ID details and mobile number before you ship.
- Transit
- 3-6 business days from Europe or North America; 2-4 from elsewhere in Asia
Questions
Can I send food to China?
Yes, with conditions. Sealed, shelf-stable food, taxed at 13%. No meat, dairy, eggs, fresh produce, or uncanned bird's nest.
Can I send food or medicine to China?
Sealed, shelf-stable food and personal medicines can go, taxed at 13%. Meat, dairy, eggs, fresh produce, seeds, and narcotic or psychotropic drugs can't.
Ask about a specific item
Official sources
- 1.
Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council (published by the Ministry of Finance)
进境物品关税、增值税、消费税征收办法 (opens in a new tab) - 2.
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and General Administration of Customs
中华人民共和国农业农村部、中华人民共和国海关总署公告第470号 (opens in a new tab) - 3.
General Administration of Customs (gov.cn policy library)
《中华人民共和国禁止进出境物品表》和《中华人民共和国限制进出境物品表》 (opens in a new tab) - 4.
State Council (Ministry of Justice national database of laws and regulations)
麻醉药品和精神药品管理条例 (opens in a new tab) - 5.
General Administration of Customs (reprinted by the Ministry of Commerce)
中华人民共和国海关总署公告2024年第176号 (opens in a new tab)
General guidance, not legal advice. Customs in China makes the final decision on every box.