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Singapore Customs

Singapore Food Agency (SFA)

The import, export and transhipment of fruits, vegetables, livestock, animal products, meat, meat products, salted/preserved eggs, processed egg products, processed food, food appliances, rice, fish, and fish products are regulated by SFA.

Last updated on 23 February 2026

Fruits and Vegetables

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Licensing and Permits Group, Food Trade Department, regulates the importation and transhipment of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Please follow the steps below for the importation and transhipment:

  • Download a copy of the legislation from the SFA website (opens in new tab).

  • Obtain a licence from SFA, in accordance with the Control of Plants Act.

  • Prepare your permit application for submission to SFA via TradeNet.

A customs permit must be obtained through TradeNet before the goods arrive in Singapore. When applying for the Import Permit, please declare full information in the following fields:

  • SFA Licence Number in the Licence/Certificate field

  • CA/SC Product Code (e.g., HVL0TH for iceberg lettuce, and CA/SC Product Quantity, which is the Nett Quantity of Items, in accordance with the HS Code (e.g. 10.00))

  • CA/SC Product Unit of Quantity, in accordance to HSC Code and Product Code (e.g., TNE)

Importers and transhippers have to comply with all approval conditions. You may refer to the SFA website (opens in new tab) for more details.

Livestock and Animal Products

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Licensing and Permits Group, Food Trade Department, regulates the importation, exportation and transhipment of the following products:

  • Table shell eggs

  • Livestock for human consumption (e.g., live poultry, pigs, sheep and goat, etc.)

  • Live turtles for human consumption

  • Food fish fry and food fish broodstock and

  • Food animal products (e.g., animal feed for food animal, semen for reproduction of food animal, etc.)

When applying for the relevant permits and licences from SFA, please take note of the requirements below:

  • Importers of live pigs, live frogs, live poultry and hen eggs for consumption must be registered with the Licensing and Permits Group, Food Trade Department.

  • For the import, export and transhipment of these products, traders must apply for a SFA permit in advance. For import and transhipment of food animal products such as animal feed, a SFA permit is also required.

TradeNet Declarations

A customs permit must be obtained through TradeNet before the goods arrive in/depart from/tranship at Singapore. When preparing for the Import, Export and Transhipment permit applications through TradeNet, please declare full information in the following fields:

  • Description of goods field:

    • Common names of the goods

    • Scientific names of the goods

    • Brand names of the goods

  • The product information:

    • CA/SC Product Code field (e.g., VCE0CE)

    • CA/SC Product Quantity field (e.g., 10000)

    • CA/SC Product Unit of Quantity field (e.g., CEN)

    • CA/SC Code 1 field (e.g., SFA-approved Establishment Code)

You may refer to the SFA website (opens in new tab) for more information on the import requirements, HS codes, and Product Codes List.

Meat

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Licensing and Permits Group, Food Trade Department regulates the import, export and transhipment of meat and meat products and salted or preserved eggs and processed egg products. Meat and meat products may be imported, exported or transhipped in frozen, chilled, processed or canned form. A customs permit must be obtained through TradeNet before the goods arrive in/depart from/tranship at Singapore.

Please follow the import requirements below for meat and meat products:

  • Traders have to apply for the SFA Licence for the import, export, and transhipment of meat products and fish products. You may refer to the SFA website (opens in new tab) for more information.

  • Traders are restricted to importing meat and meat products from SFA approved sources. You may refer to the SFA website (opens in new tab) for the list of countries and establishments that have been approved to export meat to Singapore.

  • Each consignment has to be accompanied by an import permit issued by SFA (Meat) and a veterinary health certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country to certify that Singapore’s animal health and food safety requirements have been complied with. Traders are restricted to importing salted or preserved eggs and processed egg products from SFA-approved establishments, with an accompanying health certificate.

  • An import permit issued by SFA (Meat) is required for every consignment of meat product. Traders may apply for the import permit by declaring the import via the TradeNet system. The system will route the application to SFA (Meat) for processing. Upon approval, the import permit for the consignment would be incorporated into the Cargo Clearance Permit (CCP), to be printed at the trader’s terminal. When preparing the import, export or transhipment permit application, please declare the following:

    • SFA (Meat and Fish) licence number in the Licence/Certificate No. field. The registration number for processed food products and food appliances must be keyed in for processed egg products and salted or preserved eggs.

    • All relevant product information in the:

      • CA/SC Product Code field (e.g., MCF002 for Chicken Breast, Bone-In, Frozen)

      • CA/SC Product Quantity field, i.e. Nett quantity at item level, (e.g., 10.00)

      • CA/SC Product Unit of Quantity field (e.g., TNE)

      • CA/SC Code 1 field, i.e. Establishment Code (consisting of country code and processing plant number)

      • CA/SC Code 2 field, i.e. Health Certificate number

You may refer to the SFA website (opens in new tab) for the list of product codes for meat and meat products.

Upon submission of the permit application via TradeNet, please attach a copy of the health certificate, together with other supporting documents, (e.g., Bill of Lading, invoice, sales contract, etc.) in your permit application on TradeNet.

Upon approval, please print the CCP for clearance purposes. Please comply with all conditions as stated in the CCP. The original health certificates have to be submitted to the SFA inspectors during the inspection of the imported consignment.

Fees for permits to import, export or tranship meat products, salted or preserved eggs, and processed egg products will be deducted through Inter-Bank GIRO.

Meat and meat products may be exported from Singapore or transhipped within the Free Trade Zone. You are required to produce an export or transhipment permit for each consignment that has been scheduled to be exported or transhipped. The procedure to apply for an export or transhipment permit is similar to the application procedure of an import permit.

Processed Food

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Licensing and Permits Group, Food Trade Department, regulates the importation of processed food and food appliances. Processed food products refer to all food products and supplements of food nature. Meat products, fish products, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables are not included. A customs permit must be obtained through TradeNet before the goods arrive in Singapore.

Please follow the import requirements below for processed food and food appliances:

  • Traders have to register with SFA (Processed Food) to obtain a Registration Number. You may refer to the SFA website (opens in new tab) for more information.

  • Food products that have been identified to be of high potential health risk (through trend studies), or have a history of poor food safety record, are placed under strict import control. You are required to submit the supporting documents (e.g., health certificates or laboratory analytical reports) to certify the safety of the products when applying for your import permit. Please visit the SFA website (opens in new tab) for more details on the test parameters and import requirements of the processed food items.

Please include the following in the import permit application:

  • SFA (Processed Food) Registration Number in the Licence/Certificate No. field.

  • Product Information (required for all food products and food appliances under SFA (Processed Food)’s control). You need to declare all relevant information in the:

    • CA/SC Product Code field

    • CA/SC Product Quantity field

    • CA/SC Product Unit of Quantity field, Brand Name field (e.g., brand name, name of the manufacturer of the food product, or the intended brand name of the food product)

Please select the most relevant product codes for the declaration of import permits.

Please follow up with SFA (Processed Food) after applying for your permit. You must comply with the conditional approval message stated in the import permit and contact SFA if the message states that inspection of your products is required.

You may visit the SFA website (opens in new tab) for more information on import requirements, procedures for processed food and food appliances, and the SFA (Processed Food) Product Code List.

Rice

Regulation of Import, Export and Wholesale Dealing of Rice

Rice is a controlled item under the Price Control Act (Chapter 244) (opens in new tab) and the Price Control (Rice) Order 1990 issued by the Minister for Trade and Industry.

A licence issued by the Singapore Food Agency is required to import (into Singapore or Singapore Free Trade Zone), export and carry out wholesale dealings in rice.

Application Details

For more information on permit applications for import and export, rice licences, and FAQs, please visit the Rice website (opens in new tab).

Link to List of Product Codes in the HS CA Product Code Search (opens in new tab)

Seafood

  1. The import/export of fish and fish products is regulated by SFA, Licensing and Permits Group, Food Trade Department. Fish means any species of fish and includes crustacea, shellfish, echinoderm, mollusc, and the young and eggs thereof and fish product means (a) any fish or part thereof; and (b) any product or by-product of any fish, which is intended for human consumption.

  2. Importers and exporters of fish and fish products are required to apply for an SFA licence for Import/Export and Transhipment of Meat Products and Fish Products. The licence fee is $84.00 per annum.

  3. In addition, an import permit issued by SFA is required for every consignment of fish products. The cargo clearance permit approved by SFA (Seafood) in the TradeNet system serves an SFA import/export permit.

  4. A customs permit must be obtained through TradeNet before the goods arrive in/depart from Singapore. When declaring a cargo clearance permit in the TradeNet system, the product description must be clearly indicated and the product code, product quantity and product unit of measurement must be keyed into the following relevant fields:

    • CA/SC Product Code field e.g. FFL0GP2R for live red Grouper

    • CA/SC Product Quantity field e.g. 1.00

    • CA/SC Product Unit of Quantity field e.g. TNE

    • CA/SC Code 1 e.g. ID99999 (establishment/prefectural code)

  5. Fish and fish products may be imported from any country, subject to the following restrictions:

    • The import of chilled shucked raw oyster, chilled blood cockle meat, chilled cooked prawn/shrimp and chilled crabmeat is prohibited for food safety reasons.

    • Live oysters may only be imported from countries, which meet SFA's requirements for a shellfish sanitation programme. The countries currently approved for such exports are Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan (Mie Prefecture), the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and USA.

  6. Each consignment of live/frozen oysters, frozen blood cockle meat, frozen cooked prawns or frozen raw/cooked crab meat, must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the relevant authority of the exporting country, certifying the requirements as required by SFA.

  7. Import of the following fish species, including their parts or derivatives must be accompanied by a CITES permit from the importing and exporting countries because these species are listed under CITES. Please refer to www.sfa.gov.sg (opens in new tab) for more information.

  8. Upon import, SFA reserves the right to inspect any imported consignment of fish and fish products. High-risk products such as frozen blood cockle meat, frozen cooked prawns and frozen raw/cooked crabmeat and frozen oysters will be subjected to mandatory inspection by SFA before sale. These products will be placed on “hold and test” pending the outcome of the laboratory analysis.

  9. Please visit SFA’s website (opens in new tab) for more details on the import/export requirements of fish and fish products under import, export and transhipment of food and the list of product codes under resources.