Guides

Which products must carry the CE marking, who is responsible, and which documents to ask from a manufacturer outside the European Union.

What is it?

The “CE” logo shows that the manufacturer declares that its product meets the EU safety rules that apply to it.

Which products?

Only certain families: for example toys, electrical and electronic equipment, machinery, personal protective equipment. Not every product needs it.

Who is responsible?

The manufacturer. But if you import into the EU a product made elsewhere, you must check that it complies: that is your responsibility too.

Which documents to ask for?

The EU declaration of conformity, signed by the manufacturer, and confirmation that the technical documentation is available.

In case of doubt?

Do not order large quantities. Ask for the documents first, then a sample.

Official source: Your Europe — CE marking

The dates of the great festivals of China, Vietnam and Thailand for the next twelve months, with what people do and when to prepare your orders. For families who keep their traditions in France, and for businesses that work with Asia.

For information only. The lunar festivals are calculated from the official tables of the Hong Kong Observatory (Chinese calendar); the Vietnamese calendar may, very rarely, differ by one day. Official public holidays are published every year by the governments: see also Closures in 2027.

The festivals of the next 12 months

Updated automatically at every visit: the festivals of the next 12 months, from 4 November 2026.

When should you prepare your orders?

Before a great festival, factories run at full capacity, then stop. Our advice, to adapt with your supplier:

• For Tết and Chinese New Year: place your orders as early as November or December. In January, order books are full; in February, everything stops.
• For festive products (mooncakes, lanterns, red envelopes, decorations): ask your supplier for the last order date and the shipping time to France. By sea, allow several weeks of transport on top of manufacturing.
• Small parcels: a consignment worth €150 or less now pays a flat-rate customs duty and a handling fee. See Small parcels from Asia.
• Fresh products or products of animal origin (plants, fruit, meat, dairy products): very strict rules, find out before placing any order.

To learn more about each festival

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-lunar calendar conversion tables 2026 to 2036 (calculation made by Passerelle France-Asie); UNESCO (Songkran, Spring Festival); Tourism Authority of Thailand (Loy Krathong). For information only: this information does not engage the liability of Passerelle France-Asie.

You live in France and you come from Vietnam, China or Thailand? Or you are French and you live in Asia? There is surely a taste, a smell, an object or a habit from "back home" that you miss every day. Tell us: this is how we will know what to look for, what to explain, and which businesses to put in touch.

What you can miss when you live far away

Tell us what you miss

A few words are enough. It is anonymous.

A sheet to fill in with your family

Take your time, with your parents, your grandparents, your children: what did the family buy, eat and use over there that you cannot find here? Print this sheet (or save it as a PDF), fill it in together, then copy your lines into the form.

What we do with your answers

• We read them one by one, by hand.
• We write guides: what it is, why you cannot find it here, and whether it can be brought to France legally (customs, health rules).
• We show verified businesses (grocers, restaurants, producers, craftspeople) what is missing, so that they can offer it.
• Nothing is published with your name: we do not ask for it.

Please note: fresh products (herbs, fruit), products of animal origin (meat, milk) and plants are subject to very strict rules; we do not talk about medicines or remedies.

In France, breakfast is sweet: coffee, croissant, bread and jam. In China, it is often savoury and hot. A golden fritter dipped in soy milk, a steamed stuffed bun, the street vendor's egg pancake, rice porridge… For many Chinese people living here, it is the first taste they miss in the morning. Here are the classics, explained simply.

The great classics

Depending on the region, people also have noodle soup, dumplings or, in the south, small dim sum dishes. China is big: breakfast in Beijing does not look like breakfast in Guangzhou.

Why is it missed so much?

Because Chinese breakfast is a street and neighbourhood habit: it is bought hot, early in the morning, at a counter or a cart, for a few coins. In France, these morning counters are rare. Baozi and soy milk can be found in some Asian grocery shops and bakeries, but a jianbing cooked in front of you at 7 a.m. is still exceptional.

Making it at home

• Soy milk: dried soybeans are sold everywhere; soaked overnight, blended with water, strained and well cooked, they make fresh soy milk.
• Baozi: a simple leavened dough and a bamboo steamer are enough; they freeze very well.
• Jianbing: a large very hot pan, a thin batter, an egg spread on top, spring onion and a sauce.

An idea for businesses

A Chinese breakfast counter near a station, a university or an office district would meet a real habit, and would also interest curious French people. It is the same spirit as our trades from elsewhere: a simple idea that works over there and is missing here. Looking for a supplier of equipment or ingredients in Asia? Publish a request.

To go further

Rau răm, Thai basil, holy basil, sawtooth coriander, perilla, makrut lime: fresh herbs are often what Vietnamese and Thai families in France miss most. They are expensive, hard to find, and seized at the airport if brought back without a certificate. The simplest solution: grow them yourself, in a pot, on a balcony or a windowsill. Here is how.

Golden rule: buy your seeds and plants in France or in the European Union (garden centres, nurseries, specialist growers). Do not bring seeds or cuttings from Asia in your luggage: a phytosanitary certificate is required, otherwise they are seized. See our guide Bringing back products from Asia.

The 6 herbs, one by one

General gardening advice, to be adapted to your region and your home.

Good habits

• A pot with a hole and a saucer: the water must be able to drain.
• Cut the stems often: the plant grows back bushier. For basils, pinch off the flowers.
• Start them somewhere warm: on a sunny windowsill, indoors, in April-May; take them outside when nights stay above 12 to 15 °C.
• Rau răm is the easiest: a single stem from a grocery shop is enough to start a plant that will live for years if it spends the winter somewhere warm.

What if you prefer to buy them fresh?

French market gardeners already grow Asian vegetables and herbs and sell them locally: a franceinfo report showed this in Blois, with pak choi, Japanese turnips and Chinese cabbage. The demand exists, and it is growing. Are you a market gardener or a nursery and do you grow these plants? Register your company: the families looking for them, and restaurants, need you.

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): DRIAAF Île-de-France (French Ministry of Agriculture), import of plants by private individuals (updated on 03/08/2026); franceinfo, « Pak choï, navets japonais, choux chinois : à Blois, l'essor des légumes asiatiques en circuit court ».

To go further

Missing home works both ways. A French person living in Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok or Shanghai often dreams… of a real cheese, a crusty baguette, a dry sausage. What French people abroad miss most is the table. For French companies, it is also a way into Asia.

What French people in Asia miss most

• Cheese: it exists in the big cities, but it is rare, imported and expensive, especially raw-milk cheeses.
• Bread: a real baguette, a country loaf, a butter croissant. Vietnam has nevertheless kept its bánh mì, a legacy of history.
• Charcuterie: dry sausage, cured ham, pâté, rillettes.
• Small pleasures: chocolate, jams, madeleines, quality butter.

The newspaper of French people abroad, Le Petit Journal, has published several articles on these "products that French people abroad miss so much"; food takes a large place in them.

What some French people have done locally

Faced with this gap, French people living in Asia have opened bakeries, cheese shops or artisan charcuterie workshops, producing locally rather than importing. Le Petit Journal Ho Chi Minh City, for example, presented an artisan charcuterie and cheese business set up there. Producing locally avoids the cost of transport and the import formalities for fresh products.

Exporting French products to Asia

For a small French company (cheesemaker, charcutier, biscuit maker, jam maker), Asia is a market, but the import rules for dairy products and meat are strict in each country, just as they are in Europe for products coming from Asia. Before you start:

• find out the rules of the target country (authorisations, health certificates, labelling);
• rely on the official export support (Team France Export, Business France, chambers of commerce);
• find a reliable importer or distributor there: that is the role of the Passerelle, which checks that the company exists in the official register of its country.

If you are targeting Vietnam, also read our guide on the agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, which reduces customs duties on many products.

A bridge both ways

The Passerelle is not only made to bring Asia to France. A French person looking for a distributor in Bangkok, a Vietnamese importer who wants French cheese, a Chinese restaurant looking for quality butter: each of them can publish a request.

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): Le Petit Journal, « Ces 5 produits qui manquent tant aux Français de l'étranger » and « Délices KP : de la charcuterie et des fromages artisanaux » (Ho Chi Minh City).

To go further

Each great festival in Asia is a time for family, gifts and good wishes. It also changes the rhythm of business: factories stop, orders must be placed earlier, gifts are exchanged between partners. Here are the five festivals to know, and what they mean for you.

📅 Next major festival: Loy Krathong, on Tuesday 24 November 2026 — in 20 days. See the full calendar.

For information only. The dates follow the lunar calendar: they change every year. The 2027 dates are in our guide Closures in 2027.

🇨🇳 Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)

What it is: the biggest festival of the year in China, at the end of January or in February. Families get together, clean the house to chase away bad luck, stick red good-luck verses around the doors, and wish each other 新年快乐 ("xīnnián kuàilè", happy new year). Elders give red envelopes with money (红包, "hóngbāo"). In 2024, UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

For your business: millions of people go home to their families; factories often stop for longer than the official holiday. Place your orders several weeks before, and do not plan anything urgent just after.

🇻🇳 Tết (Tết Nguyên Đán)

What it is: the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, at the same time as Chinese New Year. It is the most important festival in the country. People prepare bánh chưng (a cake of sticky rice, mung beans and pork, wrapped in leaves and cooked for hours), decorate the house with peach blossom in the north and apricot blossom in the south, and give red envelopes, lì xì. The first visitor of the year is supposed to bring luck to the house.

For your business: several weeks of slowdown. A short message of good wishes, "Chúc mừng năm mới" (happy new year), is always appreciated by a Vietnamese partner.

🇹🇭 Songkran, the Thai New Year

What it is: mid-April, after the rice harvest. People visit their families, show respect to elders and to Buddha statues, and pour water: it purifies and brings good luck. Today it is also a huge water festival in the street. UNESCO inscribed it on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2023.

For your business: government offices and many companies are closed for several days. Avoid meetings and deliveries during that week.

🇹🇭 Loy Krathong, the festival of lights on the water

What it is: on the evening of the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, usually in November. People place a krathong on the water, a small raft of banana leaves with a candle and flowers, while making a wish and thanking the river. In Chiang Mai, the Yi Peng festival adds paper lanterns.

For your business: an evening of celebration rather than a holiday; it is a good time for a friendly message to a Thai partner.

🇨🇳 🇻🇳 The Mid-Autumn Festival

What it is: the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, in September or early October, when the moon is at its roundest. In China, it is a family festival around mooncakes; in Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu), it is above all a festival for children, with lanterns and unicorn dances.

For your business: giving a box of mooncakes to a partner or to employees is a common custom. It is also a period when sales of gift products increase: plan ahead if you sell food or gift boxes.

🇫🇷 And on the other side: French holidays

Your partners in Asia also need to know our calendar: August (many companies close or slow down) and the end-of-year holidays. For them too, a "Joyeux Noël et bonne année" in French is a pleasure to receive.

Three reflexes for your business

1. Note these festivals in your diary: order before, not during.
2. Send good wishes in your partner's language, even a single sentence.
3. Ask your partner which days it really closes: not all companies follow the official holiday.

To go further

📅 See also: the calendar of Asian festivals for the next 12 months (updated automatically).

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): UNESCO, list of the intangible cultural heritage — Songkran in Thailand (2023) and Spring Festival (2024); Tourism Authority of Thailand, Loi Krathong. For information only: this information does not engage the responsibility of Passerelle France-Asie.

A bag of rau răm in the suitcase, a Tết sausage for the family, mooncakes for the festival: when you come back from Vietnam, China or Thailand, you want to bring back the taste of home. Some products get through without any problem, others are seized at the airport. Here are the official rules, explained simply.

For information only, up to date on 31 October 2026. These rules apply to a private individual bringing back products for personal use (suitcase or personal parcel), from a country outside the European Union. If in doubt, declare your products to customs on arrival.

The table in 30 seconds

The phytosanitary certificate is an official document from the country of departure certifying that the plant or fruit carries no disease or dangerous insect. A traveller rarely obtains one: in practice, without this paper, fruit and fresh herbs are seized.

Why the lychee is seized, and not the durian

The rule has nothing to do with taste or price: it protects European crops against insects and diseases from elsewhere. Only five fruits are considered risk-free and get through freely: banana, coconut, durian, date and pineapple. All the others, even a single lychee or a single mango, require a certificate. As for durian, still think of your neighbours on the plane: many airlines and hotels in Asia ban it because of its smell.

Fish sauce: yes. Tết sausage: no

This is the question many Vietnamese families ask themselves before Tết. Fish sauce is a fishery product: it is allowed up to 20 kg per person. Sausage, giò or dried beef contain meat: they are prohibited, even vacuum-packed. If you carry them without declaring them, they are confiscated and destroyed, and you risk a fine. For fish sauce, wrap the bottle well and check your airline's rules on liquids in the cabin.

Mooncakes: read the label

For the Mid-Autumn Festival, the mooncake is the gift par excellence. The rule depends on its recipe:

• with milk, butter, lard or meat (some savoury mooncakes contain ham or meat): prohibited;
• without milk or meat (bean paste, lotus seeds, salted egg yolk): it most probably falls within the 2 kg limit for products "containing neither meat nor milk". Hypothesis: no official text mentions the mooncake by name. Declare it to customs if in doubt.

Tea, coffee, dried spices, noodles

Dry products of plant origin, in their original sealed packaging (tea, coffee, dried spices, noodles without meat, rice paper), are generally accepted for personal use. Please note: we have not found an official list naming them one by one. Check on the customs website, especially for large quantities.

Fresh herbs: better to find them or grow them in France

Rau răm, ngò gai, tía tô, Thai basil, holy basil (kaphrao), makrut lime leaves: these are often what people miss most, and these are precisely what is seized on arrival. Citrus leaves such as makrut lime are among the most closely watched plants in Europe: do not put them in your suitcase.

Good news: several of these plants grow in France, in pots on a balcony in summer or at market gardeners'. French growers already produce Asian vegetables and herbs and sell them locally (franceinfo report in Blois). And if you really miss a product, tell us: it may be an opportunity for a company to produce it or to import it according to the rules.

And by parcel?

The rules are the same for a parcel sent by the family: no meat, no milk, no fresh fruit without a certificate. In addition, since 1 July 2026, small parcels from Asia pay a customs duty of €3 per product category. All the details are in our guide Small parcels from Asia: €3 customs duty, then €2 in fees.

For businesses: a different story

A grocery shop, a restaurant or an importer bringing in these products to sell them follows different rules: health checks on arrival, an establishment approved by the European Union for products of animal origin, official certificates. That is precisely where the Passerelle can help: finding a supplier checked in the official register of its country, and writing to it with confidence. All the steps are in our guide Importing food products from Asia to sell them in France.

The next festival

📅 Next major festival: Loy Krathong, on Tuesday 24 November 2026 — in 20 days. See the full calendar.

Remember to order early: before the big festivals, grocery shops and importers are sold out.

To go further

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): European Union, "Your Europe" — Travelling with animal products, food or plants (europa.eu/youreurope, last checked by the EU on 21/10/2026); DRIAAF Île-de-France (French Ministry of Agriculture), « Importation non commerciale de végétaux, fruits et légumes — bagages ou colis personnels » (updated on 03/08/2026); European Commission, "Personal imports" (food.ec.europa.eu); Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122; Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 (plant health); franceinfo, « Pak choï, navets japonais, choux chinois : à Blois, l'essor des légumes asiatiques en circuit court ». The French customs website (douane.gouv.fr) could not be consulted on the day of writing: to be checked. For information only: this information does not engage the responsibility of Passerelle France-Asie; only the authorities (customs, veterinary and plant health services) are authoritative.

No Tết without bánh chưng. This square cake of sticky rice, mung beans and pork, wrapped in green leaves, is the heart of the Vietnamese New Year festival. Far from Vietnam, making it becomes a challenge… and often a moment for getting together. Here is its story, its recipe in broad outline and the solutions found in France.

A square cake that tells a legend

Tradition says that a Hùng king wanted to choose his successor among his sons: the one who would bring him the most precious dish. One of them, Lang Liêu, the most modest, offered two cakes made of rice, the simplest and most essential product: a square cake for the Earth, the bánh chưng, and a round cake for the Sky, the bánh dày. The king was moved by this message and entrusted him with the kingdom. Since then, bánh chưng has been made for Tết, placed on the ancestors' altar, then shared with the family.

What is inside

• sticky rice, soaked for several hours;
• shelled mung beans (yellow), cooked or soaked;
• pork belly, seasoned with salt, pepper and shallot;
• dong leaves (lá dong), which give the rice its green colour and its fragrance, and ties to hold the parcel tight.

The cake is assembled in a square mould (or by hand for the most skilled), tied firmly, then boiled for a long time: a whole night, often eight to ten hours or more depending on its size. In the past, the whole family kept watch around the pot. It is perhaps this night-long vigil that those who live far away miss most.

In France: the solutions found

• Pork, sticky rice and mung beans are easy to find in Asian grocery shops and supermarkets.
• Dong leaves are rarer. They can sometimes be found frozen in Asian grocery shops before Tết. Many families replace them with banana leaves: the taste changes a little, the green colour is less strong, but the cake keeps its shape.
• Associations organise days for making them together before Tết. For example, the association of Vietnamese people in Toulouse (AEVTL) organises a "bánh chưng day". It is a chance to find the gestures and the vigil again.
• Bringing it back from Vietnam? No: it contains pork. Meat is prohibited in luggage coming from a country outside the European Union, even cooked and packaged. All the details are in our guide Bringing back products from Asia.

When to make it?

Tết follows the lunar calendar: its date changes every year. The next Tết and all the festivals to come are in our festival calendar, updated automatically. Families make bánh chưng in the last days before the New Year.

📅 Next major festival: Loy Krathong, on Tuesday 24 November 2026 — in 20 days. See the full calendar.

An idea for businesses

A caterer, a bakery or a grocery shop offering bánh chưng made in France, with French products, meets a real need, especially for families who no longer have the time or the know-how. And a European producer of frozen dong leaves would probably find customers. Are you one or the other? Register your company, it is free.

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): Association des étudiants et des Vietnamiens de Toulouse (AEVTL), « La journée du bánh chưng »; luggage rules: European Union, "Your Europe" (checked by the EU on 21/10/2026).

To go further

Lychee, mangosteen, rambutan, dragon fruit, durian, longan, jackfruit: many families from China, Vietnam or Thailand miss the fruits of Asia, and they intrigue French people. Here is how to recognise them, how to choose them, and why in France they are found at importers rather than in suitcases.

The 7 most sought-after fruits

General advice to help you choose; quality depends on the fruit and its season.

Why they are not brought back in a suitcase

For a private individual arriving from a country outside the European Union, any fresh fruit requires a phytosanitary certificate, otherwise it is seized. Only five fruits are exempt: banana, coconut, durian, date and pineapple. A single lychee or a single mangosteen in a suitcase can therefore be confiscated. All the details are in our guide Bringing back products from Asia.

The rule protects European orchards against insects and diseases. For the same reason, the European Union closely checks certain fruits imported by companies: for example, dragon fruit from Vietnam is subject to reinforced checks at the border.

Where to find them in France

• Asian grocery shops in the big cities receive these fruits from importers, who have the certificates and go through the health checks.
• Lychees are easy to find in supermarkets at the end of the year: they then come mainly from the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Réunion), at Christmas time.
• Durian and jackfruit are often found frozen or cut: more practical, and less smell.

An idea for businesses

Asian fruits travel badly and are expensive: every reliable importer, every wholesaler and every grocery shop that knows how to bring them in according to the rules meets a real need. Are you a fruit grower or exporter in Vietnam or Thailand, or an importer in France? Register your company, it is free. Looking for a supplier? Publish a request.

The next festival

📅 Next major festival: Loy Krathong, on Tuesday 24 November 2026 — in 20 days. See the full calendar.

Fruits have a large place on the ancestors' altar and in festival gifts: remember to order them early.

Sources (consulted on 31 October 2026): DRIAAF Île-de-France (French Ministry of Agriculture), « Importation non commerciale de végétaux, fruits et légumes » (updated on 03/08/2026); Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 (reinforced import checks). For information only: this information does not engage the responsibility of Passerelle France-Asie; only the authorities are authoritative.

To go further

Chinese New Year, Tết, Songkran, Golden Week: the periods of 2027 when factories and offices close in China, Vietnam and Thailand.

The other public holidays of 2027

Shorter than New Year, they still close offices and government services: keep them in mind for a meeting, a payment or customs clearance.

Thailand also has several public holidays linked to the monarchy and to Buddhist festivals, whose dates change every year: check the official Thai calendar.

The next festival, updated automatically:

📅 Next major festival: Loy Krathong, on Tuesday 24 November 2026 — in 20 days. See the full calendar.

Note: the official 2027 holiday calendars (exact length, bridge days) have not yet been published by the Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai governments. This page will be updated as soon as they are.

🏮 See also: To understand these festivals (traditions, gifts, good wishes): the great festivals of Asia and what they change for your business.

📅 See also: the calendar of Asian festivals for the next 12 months (updated automatically).

Short sentences, figures written out in full, one question per message: 7 rules to be well understood by a partner who does not speak your language.

1. Write short sentences, one idea per sentence: they translate without mistakes.
2. One request per message, with a clear question at the end.
3. Write dates without ambiguity: "6 February 2027" rather than "06/02".
4. Give prices with the currency and the conditions: "€1,200 excluding tax, ex works".
5. Avoid humour, slang and abbreviations: they translate badly.
6. Confirm in writing what was said on the phone or in a video call.
7. Leave time to reply: time differences and public holidays count.

Which channel in which country?

In practice: a message sent from France at 8 in the morning arrives in the early afternoon in Asia, during office hours. A message sent in the evening in France arrives in the middle of the night. For what matters (price, order, contract), also use e-mail: it keeps a written record that is easy to find again.

The 5 pieces of information to give in any price request

1. The exact product: name, reference, size, colour, material, photo if possible.
2. The quantity: a first trial order, then the usual quantity.
3. The place of delivery and the transport rule (Incoterm): who pays what up to where. See Incoterms explained.
4. The lead time you want, taking into account the festivals that close factories.
5. The standards and documents you need in Europe (CE marking, label in French, CBAM or EUDR data depending on the product).

An example of a first message

FICTITIOUS EXAMPLE, to adapt:

Hello,
My name is Marie Dupont, I buy for a grocery shop in Lyon (France).
I am looking for loose green tea, in bags of 1 kilogram.
Quantity: 50 kilograms for a first trial, then about 200 kilograms per month.
Delivery: Lyon, France.
Can you send me your price in euros, the lead time and the list of documents supplied?
Thank you,
Marie Dupont

Short sentences, figures written in full, a single question at the end: the message translates without mistakes, even with an automatic tool.

Before paying: the right reflexes

• Check that the company exists in the official register of its country: our method.
• Be wary of a change of bank account announced by message: call your contact on a number you already know.
• Keep all your written exchanges. See paying without getting cheated.

🏮 See also: For your New Year, Tết or Songkran wishes: the great festivals of Asia and the phrases to write.