Produce and seafood import glossary

An official document issued by the exporting country's national plant protection organization (NPPO) stating that a consignment of plants or plant products meets the importing country's plant-health requirements.

The international standard is ISPM 12 of the International Plant Protection Convention, which covers certificates for export and for re-export. The exporter applies to its own NPPO — in the United States, USDA APHIS issues them through its PCIT system. The importing country decides whether a certificate is needed and what it must state.

In your RFQ: Ask which authority will issue the certificate, and confirm that any wording your destination requires (additional declarations) will be on it before shipment.

IPPC — ISPM 12: Phytosanitary certificates · USDA APHIS — Plant and plant product exports (PCIT)

The government service in each country responsible for plant health, including inspecting exports and issuing phytosanitary certificates.

In your RFQ: Name the origin you prefer; the NPPO of that origin, not the supplier, issues the certificate.

IPPC — Adopted standards (ISPMs) · IPPC — ISPM 12: Phytosanitary certificates

Extra statements on a phytosanitary certificate that the importing country requires — for example about a pest, an area of origin or a treatment.

In your RFQ: Send your broker's or authority's exact wording with the RFQ so the supplier can confirm it can be certified.

IPPC — ISPM 12: Phytosanitary certificates

An agreement between the importing and exporting countries' authorities that sets the conditions under which a specific product from that origin may be imported.

A protocol opens a route; it does not make every grower eligible. For example, the protocol for South African cherries to China was signed on 8 September 2026, and orchards, packhouses and consignments still have to meet its conditions; on 25 October 2026 first commercial shipments were still awaiting China's final confirmation.

In your RFQ: Ask whether the supplier's orchard and packhouse are registered under the protocol for your destination, and ask for evidence.

South African Government — cherry protocol with China signed (8 September 2026) · Premium perishables guide

A phytosanitary treatment in which fruit is held at a set low temperature for a set time — often during the voyage — when the importing country requires it against a specific pest.

Whether a treatment applies, and its parameters, come from the destination's import conditions or the protocol. This glossary does not state temperatures or durations.

In your RFQ: Ask the destination authority or your broker whether a treatment is required for your origin, and include it in the shipping terms.

The World Customs Organization's international product classification: more than 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by a six-digit code, used by more than 200 countries and economies.

Countries add further digits for their own tariffs. Trade statistics on this site quote six-digit HS codes; product scope matters — HS 080440 covers avocados fresh or dried, and HS 081040 covers blueberries together with cranberries and bilberries.

In your RFQ: Include the HS code if you know it; your customs broker confirms the final classification.

World Customs Organization — What is the Harmonized System? · 2024 trade evidence by HS code

TRACES is the European Commission's platform for certification and pre-notification of imports; a CHED (Common Health Entry Document) is the entry document used for consignments subject to official controls at the EU border.

In your RFQ: For EU destinations, confirm who will pre-notify the consignment in TRACES and that the origin and establishment meet EU conditions.

European Commission — TRACES · European Commission — Import controls on food and feed: Q&A · Import compliance guide · Great Britain: IPAFFS, CHED and BTOM

The party legally responsible for a customs entry in the destination country — for declarations, duties and compliance.

In your RFQ: State who will be importer of record. It decides which Incoterms® rule and documents make sense.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Basic import and export

A U.S. traceability programme run by NOAA Fisheries that requires importers of covered seafood species groups, including shrimp, to report and keep harvest-to-entry data.

NOAA states that compliance for shrimp became effective on 31 December 2018.

In your RFQ: For shrimp into the United States, ask for the harvest and processing data the importer must report before you place the order.

NOAA Fisheries — Seafood Import Monitoring Program · Importing food into the United States

The International Chamber of Commerce's rules defining who arranges and pays for transport, insurance and export/import clearance, and where risk passes. The current edition, Incoterms® 2020, entered into force on 1 January 2020.

In your RFQ: Name the rule and the place (for example a named port). Offers on different rules are not comparable until converted to the same basis.

ICC — Incoterms® rules · How we compare supplier offers

The total cost of goods delivered to your named place: product price plus freight, insurance, duties, inspections, port and handling charges.

A landed-cost total is only meaningful when every component is supported and in the same currency and unit; missing components are shown as gaps, not filled in.

In your RFQ: Ask for each cost line separately and say which ones you will arrange yourself.

Landed-cost estimator

A refrigerated shipping container that holds a set temperature — and, when equipped, a controlled atmosphere — for perishable cargo.

The set-points for a product come from the shipper's and receiver's specifications and any treatment requirement; this glossary does not state temperatures.

In your RFQ: Put your required set-points and temperature-recorder data in the RFQ, and agree who books the reefer.

Cold-chain shipping guide

Removing field heat from fresh produce soon after harvest, before packing or loading.

In your RFQ: Ask how and when the fruit is pre-cooled, and who records it.

Fresh produce from the opposite hemisphere that arrives when local supply is out of season — for example Southern-hemisphere fruit sold in Europe or North America.

In your RFQ: Give your first and last arrival dates; seasonal windows vary by variety and year.

A country that imports produce and ships much of it on — after ripening, repacking or storage. It appears on both import and export lists.

In 2024 trade data the Netherlands is an example for avocados and blueberries. Adding hub imports to neighbouring markets counts the same fruit twice.

In your RFQ: Say whether you will accept fruit routed through a hub, and whether you need the original origin on the documents.

WITS / UN Comtrade — trade data by HS code

Production statistics (such as FAOSTAT) measure what a country grew; they do not show how much is exported, eligible for your market or available now.

FAOSTAT marks each value as official, estimated or imputed; this site shows those flags next to the numbers.

In your RFQ: Treat production as background only. Availability is confirmed with suppliers for your dates.

FAOSTAT — Crops and livestock products

A supplier quote is a dated price offered by a named supplier for stated terms; an indicative estimate is a dated calculation based on stated assumptions. Neither is a guaranteed price.

In your RFQ: When you compare offers, check each figure's label, date, Incoterms® rule and validity.

How we compare supplier offers

A document certifying that the goods in a shipment were wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country.

The ICC describes two types issued by chambers of commerce: non-preferential certificates for goods not claiming preferential treatment, and preferential certificates for goods claiming reduced tariffs or exemptions, usually under a trade agreement.

In your RFQ: Say whether you will claim a preferential tariff, so the supplier provides the right type of certificate.

ICC — Certificates of origin

A preliminary invoice that sets out the goods, quantities, prices and terms before shipment — often used to confirm an order, apply for an import permit or open a letter of credit.

In your RFQ: Ask that it repeats the agreed specification, Incoterms® rule, validity date and payment terms exactly.

A bank's undertaking to pay the seller when documents that comply with the credit's terms are presented. Payment depends on the documents, not on the condition of the goods.

In your RFQ: If you will pay by letter of credit, say so and list the documents the credit will require, so suppliers who cannot accept it are visible early.

A payment method in which the seller's bank sends the shipping documents to the buyer's bank, which releases them against payment or acceptance of a bill of exchange. The banks handle documents but do not guarantee payment.

In your RFQ: State your preferred payment method; it changes which suppliers will quote.

A laboratory report for a specific lot — for example residues, microbiology or composition — stating the method, the result and the laboratory.

In your RFQ: Name the tests, the limits you will accept and whether the laboratory must be accredited or independent.

The highest legally permitted level of a pesticide residue in or on a food. In the EU, MRLs are published per product and substance in the European Commission's EU Pesticides Database.

MRLs differ between markets; a lot that meets one destination's limits may not meet another's.

In your RFQ: Name the destination market whose MRLs apply, and ask whether a residue analysis will accompany each lot.

European Commission — EU Pesticides Database (MRLs)

Product frozen so that pieces stay separate rather than set in a block — common for berries, vegetables and shrimp.

In your RFQ: Specify IQF or block frozen, plus pack size, because prices and handling differ.

The smallest order a supplier will accept — per shipment, per size or grade, or per programme.

In your RFQ: Give volume per shipment and per season so suppliers can say whether their MOQ fits.

A thin protective layer of ice applied to frozen fish or shrimp. Offers must state whether price and weight are on glazed or net weight.

In your RFQ: State the net-weight basis and the glaze you accept; compare offers only on the same basis.

Frozen shrimp quotes: count, glaze and net weight