Yesterday, the Ministry of Commerce's Foreign Trade Department said food safety standards in China will need to be improved for exports to satisfy new EU and Japanese regulations that will come into force next year.

A forum opened yesterday at which about 100 major agricultural product exporters heard about the new standards' expected impact from the State General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Ministry of Agriculture and China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, as well as from European Commission officials.

The EU regulations will come into effect on January 1 and Japan's from May.
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The commerce ministry said 43.3 percent of China's agricultural product exports were bought by the EU and Japan, and of all Chinese exporting companies, 38 percent mainly do business with the Japanese market and 27 percent with the EU.

Ministry officials said the new regulations "raised the doorsill" for trading in both markets, and if domestic companies do not improve their standards even popular products would be affected.

The ministry said it plans to carry out training courses for farmers and companies in major agricultural regions in the first half of 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2005)