China grants export licence to Finnish infant formula

China has granted for the first time an export licence to establishments of a Finnish company that manufactures infant formula, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on Wednesday.

Export licence to China is a significant step forward in food trade between Finland and China. The licence was granted during the visit of Permanent Secretary Jaana Husu-Kallio in Beijing on 8 January 2019.

China offers an enormous market for infant formula. So far Finland has exported milk and whey to China, where these have been processed into infant formula. Now the products can be manufactured and packaged in Finland for retail to be sold directly to Chinese consumers. Of the dairy products Finland also exports butter and small volumes of cheeses to China.

“This is a significant milestone in the history of Finnish food exports. Infant formulas are high value added products where the Finnish clean and safe raw material and production practices have the prominent role they truly deserve”, said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä.

Opening the export licences has been prepared as a collaborative effort by the export team of the Finnish Food Authority (until the end of 2018 the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira).

The Chinese authorities have been provided with comprehensive analyses of the manufacture of infant formulas in Finland, and the authorities have visited Finland to inspect the establishments producing infant formulas to verify that they comply with the Chinese requirements.