**Every carton of Indonesian fresh fruit bound for China must carry the GACC registration number, the producer and exporter enterprise details, the product name, and the country of origin — labelled in Chinese and English. Under GACC Decree 248, in force since 1 January 2022, mislabelled or unregistered cargo is a top reason shipments get held at a Chinese port.**
For mangosteen (manggis, Garcinia mangostana) shippers, the label is not decoration. It is the first document a Chinese customs officer reads, and it must agree with every certificate travelling with the pallet. This piece maps what China’s CIQ labelling rules require as of 2026, and where the direction of travel points for 2027 — an outlook, not a prediction.
What does China actually require on the label?
China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) built its labelling regime on top of Decree No. 248 (2021), which was notified to the WTO on 12 April 2021 and took force on 1 January 2022. The decree requires overseas producers, processors and storage facilities of imported food to be registered, and it requires their registration identifiers to appear on both the label and the export documents.
For a reefer of fresh mangosteen, a compliant carton label generally shows:
| Label element | What it means | Source of truth |
|---|---|---|
| Product name | “Fresh mangosteen / 山竹” | Packing list |
| Country of origin | Indonesia | Certificate of origin |
| GACC producer number | Registered orchard/packhouse ID | GACC / CIFER record |
| GACC exporter number | Registered exporter ID | GACC / CIFER record |
| Enterprise name & address | Producer and exporter, matching registration | Registration record |
| Net weight & carton grade | e.g. 5 / 8 / 10 kg, Super / A | Grading sheet |
The rule of thumb: nothing on the label should contradict the phytosanitary certificate, invoice, packing list or certificate of origin. A single mismatch — a weight, a spelling, a number — invites a hold.
Which registration numbers go on the carton?
This is where buyers and first-time shippers get tangled, so it is worth being precise. GACC issues distinct number types, and the label draws from more than one:
- GACC-2 (overseas exporter) — an 18-digit number beginning “YA”.
- GACC-1 (overseas producer) — an 18-digit number beginning “C”.
- GACC-5 (product listing) — a 13-digit HS-CIQ code identifying the specific product.
When you request a mangosteen exporter quotation, ask the supplier to state which of these numbers will be printed on the carton and which enterprise each one belongs to. Getting that locked before a reefer is booked is far cheaper than reprinting labels on a loaded container.
Registration numbers normally renew every five years, and the standard GACC review runs 20 to 60 business days as of 2026 — so a lapsed or pending number is a real scheduling risk, not a paperwork footnote.
What enterprise details must match?
Mangosteen sits among the products where registration flows through Indonesia’s competent authorities rather than pure self-registration. Fresh-fruit orchards must be registered with Barantan (Badan Karantina Pertanian) and GACC and must run SOP, GAP and IPM under the Directorate General of Horticulture. The fruit must then be handled at a packhouse registered by OKKPP (central) or OKKPD (regional) and verified by Barantan under the agreed export protocol.
Every one of those registered entities has a name and address on file with GACC. The label’s enterprise details must match those records exactly — not a trading name, not an abbreviation. On the Indonesian side, BPOM’s “Manual pendaftaran perusahaan ke GACC” routes companies to email peredaranpangan@pom.go.id with the subject “Pendaftaran GACC”, supplying a 10-digit HS Code and a 3-digit CIQ Code, after which products are registered in the CIFER platform (cifer.singlewindow.cn).
How does the mangosteen protocol change the label?
Beyond the generic Decree 248 fields, fresh mangosteen carries protocol-specific expectations. Under the bilateral export protocol, fruit must not be rotten or cracked and must be free from China’s target pests — fruit flies, mealybugs, ants and mites. That phytosanitary status is certified separately (OPTK-free), but the label, packhouse code and certificate must all point back to the same registered orchard and packhouse.
Practically, that means the carton grade printed on the label — Super at roughly 10 fruit per kg, smaller grades at 15–20 fruit per kg — should reconcile with the size-grading declared to quarantine. Cosmetic standards are strict, and latex (getah) staining or cracking can pull a lot out of the export grade even when the paperwork is clean.
What is changing for 2027? An outlook, not a prediction
Two dated 2026 signals shape the 2027 view. First, since 5 September 2024, under GACC Announcement 2024 No. 105, overseas exporters can no longer apply to GACC directly — they must entrust a GACC-authorised Chinese customs registration agent (CRA) using a China Electronic Port key. That intermediary layer is now the norm, and it puts label-data accuracy in the hands of a third party you should vet.
Second, demand is climbing fast: Bali mangosteen exports to China jumped several-fold in the month before Lunar New Year in early 2026, with China the clear #1 destination ahead of Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and pockets of the Middle East and Europe. Rising volume tends to draw tighter traceability enforcement, not looser.
The honest read for 2027: expect the same core fields, applied more strictly, with sharper scrutiny of number-to-enterprise matching and CRA involvement. We are not predicting new rules — we are flagging where careful shippers should already be building slack.
A pre-quote labelling checklist buyers should send
Before you ask for a firm price, send the supplier this short list. It turns a vague quote into a bookable one:
- Which GACC numbers (GACC-1, GACC-2, GACC-5) print on the carton, and for which enterprise?
- Are the registered orchard and packhouse current, and when do the registrations renew?
- Will the label be dual-language (Chinese + English), and who approves the artwork?
- What carton sizes (5 / 8 / 10 kg) and grades (Super / A) will be declared to quarantine?
- Which CRA handles the China-side registration, and is the Electronic Port key active?
For any live quote on grade, size, destination and MOQ, our desk answers within a 24-working-hour SLA via WhatsApp 6281128590000 or sales@balipremiumtrip.com. FOB figures move with the harvest (national season November–March, regionally variable across Jabar, Sumbar, Sumut and Bali), so treat every number as indicative as of 2026, not a contract, and confirm the label spec in writing before the reefer loads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do China labels for Indonesian fruit need to be in Chinese, or is English enough?
In practice, cartons for the Chinese market carry dual-language labels — Chinese alongside English — so customs officers can read the product name, origin and enterprise details directly. English alone risks delay. Because artwork must match your GACC registration exactly, confirm the final bilingual label with your exporter and China-side agent before printing, as of 2026.
Whose GACC number goes on the carton — the farm’s or the exporter’s?
Both can appear. The GACC-1 producer number (18 digits, starting “C”) identifies the registered orchard or packhouse; the GACC-2 exporter number (18 digits, starting “YA”) identifies the exporting company; and a 13-digit HS-CIQ code identifies the product. Ask your supplier to state which numbers print and which enterprise each belongs to before booking.
What happens if the GACC registration number on the label is wrong or missing?
A missing, expired or mismatched registration number is a leading reason cargo is held at a Chinese port under Decree 248. We cannot guarantee any shipment clears customs or quarantine, but accurate number-to-enterprise matching, current registrations and a vetted China-side agent materially reduce that risk. Verify every number before the container is sealed.