Indonesian Seafood to Korea: Complete MFDS Import Guide 2025

A practical, step-by-step playbook for registering an Indonesian seafood plant with Korea’s MFDS, understanding NFQS inspections, timelines, documents, and the exact moves to clear your first shipment in 2025.

If you’re planning to ship Indonesian seafood to Korea in 2025, there are two gates you must pass. First, your facility needs to be registered with MFDS as an overseas manufacturer. Second, your shipment needs to pass NFQS fishery import inspection on arrival. We’ve helped plants do this across tuna, snapper, grouper and shrimp. Here’s the streamlined version we wish more people had before their first booking.

What MFDS facility registration actually is (and who submits it)

MFDS manages Korea’s Imported Food Integrated System (often called IFIS). Any overseas facility that manufactures, processes or stores seafood bound for Korea must be registered in IFIS before import declaration. It’s facility-based, not shipment-based.

Who submits the application—the Korean importer or the Indonesian plant?

The Korean importer submits it. Always. The importer files the “Overseas Manufacturing Facility Registration” in IFIS and needs a Letter of Authorization (LOA) from the Indonesian facility. You can’t self-register as a foreign manufacturer without a Korean importer account.

Two nuances we’ve learned the hard way:

If multiple Korean buyers want to import from the same Indonesian plant, each importer must register the facility separately using its own LOA.
If your legal entity name or address changes, you’ll need to update or re-register before the next import. Don’t ship under the old details.

Timelines: how long approval takes and when to apply

MFDS review typically takes 2–4 weeks once the importer submits a complete file. We recommend applying 30–45 days before your intended shipment date. If MFDS requests corrections, you’ll want buffer time.

In late 2024 we saw more queries on legal-entity name consistency and address formats. Expect tighter checks in 2025. The earlier you submit, the fewer nasty surprises when your container is already on the water.

Required documents for seafood facilities in 2025

Your importer will upload or enter details in Korean. Provide them with clean, complete files upfront. In our experience, this is the minimum set that clears smoothly:

Business license and legal entity certificate of the Indonesian plant (English acceptable). Include the company name exactly as on your license.
Facility address and contacts. Provide both English and a Korean translation with road-name format if you have it. A Google Maps pin or official postal code helps your importer standardize the address.
Production scope and product categories. MFDS registers by category. If you’ll ship raw fish fillets like Grouper Fillet (IQF) and also value-added items like Swordfish Cube (IQF), ensure both relevant categories are checked.
Process flow diagram and basic floor plan. Keep it simple: receiving, processing, packing, cold storage, shipping. Include sanitation points.
Food safety certifications (HACCP) if available. Not mandatory for registration, but it reduces questions. For shrimp and tuna lines, Korean importers expect HACCP.
Water quality or ice source certificates if applicable. We attach most recent lab tests when available.
LOA authorizing the importer to register your facility.

What should the LOA say? (use this as a template)

Title: Letter of Authorization for MFDS Overseas Manufacturing Facility Registration
Parties: Full legal name and address of the Indonesian facility, and full legal name and address of the Korean importer
Authorization: “We authorize [Importer] to register our facility with MFDS and manage updates for imports into Korea.”
Scope: Facility name, address, and covered product categories (e.g., fish and fishery products, frozen fillets, tuna saku)
Validity dates: Typically 1–2 years
Signatures: Authorized signatory name, title, date, company seal if used

Document language: English is generally accepted. Your importer will input Korean translations in IFIS. Provide a clear English version plus a line with your preferred Korean transliteration to avoid spelling mismatches later.

Step-by-step: MFDS IFIS registration workflow

Here’s the exact flow we use with partners.

Pick your importer early. They create or log into IFIS and confirm their importer business registration is active.
Share your docs folder. We include licenses, floor plan, photos of key areas, and HACCP if any.
Importer completes the Overseas Manufacturing Facility Registration form. They’ll enter legal name, address, contacts, product categories, process description, and upload LOA.
Double-check the “Food Type” selections. For a mix of raw fillet and sushi-grade tuna like Yellowfin Saku (Sushi Grade), ensure all relevant fishery subcategories are ticked. If the wrong type is chosen, your item cannot be declared later.
Submit and monitor. IFIS status will show “under review” then either “approved” or “correction requested.”
Respond fast to queries. Typical asks: address proof, clearer process description, or corrected LOA.
Receive facility code. Share it with your logistics team so they can align documents.

Pro tip: If you plan to export both tuna and reef fish later in the year, register the broader scope now. It’s easier than amending under time pressure.

Do you need HACCP to pass MFDS facility registration?

Short answer: No, it’s not a hard legal requirement for the MFDS facility registration itself. But it’s increasingly expected for high-risk categories, and NFQS import inspection scrutiny is higher for non-HACCP plants.

For shrimp, tuna, and sashimi-grade items, we recommend HACCP strongly. We’ve seen NFQS sampling intensify for aquaculture antibiotics and histamine risk. Having a robust HACCP plan, antibiotic monitoring records for farmed shrimp, and histamine controls for tuna cuts like Yellowfin Steak reduces inspection delays.

MFDS vs NFQS: what’s the difference?

MFDS registration is a pre-condition to import. It’s about your facility being known and approved in the system.

NFQS import inspection is shipment-specific. Every entry is inspected or sampled according to risk. First-time shipments often face 100% laboratory testing. Over time, with clean history, frequency can drop.

So no, NFQS import inspection isn’t the same as MFDS facility registration. You need both.

Why registrations get rejected (and how we fix them)

We see the same avoidable mistakes over and over.

Name/address mismatch. The facility name on the license doesn’t match the LOA or IFIS entry. Fix: copy exact spelling from the business license and keep it consistent everywhere.
Wrong food type category. Importer selects “processed foods” when you only make raw fillets. Fix: select “fish and fishery products” with the exact subcategories used for items like Snapper Fillet (Red Snapper) or Frozen Shrimp.
Vague process description. “We produce frozen fish” gets questions. Fix: add 5–7 lines on receiving, trimming/filleting, washing, freezing method (IQF or block), packing and cold storage.
LOA without dates or signature. Fix: date, sign, and stamp. Include importer legal name and company registration number.
Blurry uploads. Fix: re-scan at 300 dpi and use searchable PDFs if possible.

Practical takeaway: Have one master dossier with standardized names, addresses and a clean process diagram. Send that same set to every importer who will register you.

Connecting an approved facility to your first import declaration

Once MFDS approves the facility, the importer does two things in IFIS:

Registers the product item(s) they intend to import. This links to MFDS food type codes. For example, a frozen grouper portion like Grouper Bites (Portion Cut) falls under frozen fishery products. A sushi-grade tuna block like Yellowfin Saku (Sushi Grade) falls under raw fish for sashimi.
Files the import declaration for the shipment and selects your facility from the approved list using its facility code. The declaration won’t proceed if the facility or food type doesn’t match.

In parallel, the importer books NFQS import inspection for the arrival port. Have your health certificates, packing list, invoice and processing date/lot info aligned with what’s in IFIS. If your IFIS product name says “skinless, boneless fillet,” make sure the commercial invoice and label use the same description.

Fees, validity and renewals

MFDS overseas manufacturer registration fee: Generally none charged by MFDS for 2025. Your importer may bill admin costs.
Validity: Typically 2 years. Ask your importer to calendar a renewal 60 days before expiry.
Updates: If you change address, add a new processing line, or expand product categories, submit an amendment before shipping products under the new scope.

When this advice applies—and when it doesn’t

This guide fits most frozen and chilled fishery exports from Indonesia to Korea. If you’re shipping ready-to-eat products with added ingredients or retail labeling in Korean, you may need additional label review and different food type selections. If your product is canned or retorted, expect different documentation and sometimes additional testing protocols.

Need help tailoring categories for your product mix or preparing the LOA and process flow that clears on the first try? You can Contact us on whatsapp. We’ll share the exact templates we use.

Final takeaways

Start MFDS registration 30–45 days before shipment. Target 2–4 weeks for approval, longer if corrections pop up.
Have the Korean importer submit with a strong LOA. One importer = one registration, even for the same plant.
Select the right food type codes that match your real lineup. We do this across items like Mahi Mahi Portion (IQF), Cobia Fillet (IVP / IQF) and sashimi-grade tuna to avoid item-declaration blocks.
Prepare for NFQS sampling on first shipments. HACCP and clean testing history reduce delays.

We’ve found that teams who treat registration as an upfront project, not a last-minute checkbox, clear shipments faster and avoid demurrage. If you want our team to sanity-check your IFIS category selections or line up a test shipment from Indonesia, View our products and we’ll align specs with the correct MFDS food types before you book.