New Requirements for Food Exports to Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has decided to step up its control over food imports to Saudi Arabia.
To address concerns related to the legal, technical and procedural measures of food safety control implemented by the competent authorities in the exporting countries, SFDA has introduced new requirement of Foreign Establishment Registration. To meet this mandatory requirement, foreign establishments exporting the products below must be on the SFDA’s approved lists of exporters in order to have their products cleared into the Saudi market:
- Bovine Meat
- Meat Products
- Poultry Meat
- Poultry Meat Products
- Fishery Products
- Aquaculture Products
- The Crustacean Products
- Camel Meat
And it is estimated that the list be extended in the future to vegetables and fruits products, as well as the dairy products.
The registration process must go through the competent authorities in the Netherlands and involves LAN-Riyadh.
SFDA has also introduced new packaging and labelling requirements for fresh vegetables and fruit imports into Saudi, which will be brought into force starting from September 1st 2019.
The new requirements are part of the SFDA’s stagey to establish more transparent and traceable supply chain for Saudi food imports that could be overseen by SFDA with the collaboration of respective competent authorities. SFDA aims also to reduce the re-exported products into the Saudi market, and rather develop direct relationship with the producers.
Dutch agrofood businesses exporting to Saudi already, or willing to access the Saudi market, are kindly requested to contact the Agriculture Office LAN-Riyadh at RIY-LNV@minbuza.nl for information and guidance.
LAN-RIY
