APEC's' Sweet Taste 'competes for' Fresh 'entry into the market

On May 12th, 299.1 tons of high-quality golden pillow durian imported from Thailand arrived at Shenzhen Shekou Container Terminal. After passing the quarantine and supervision by the customs officers of Shekou Customs, this batch of durians was immediately transported to major fruit wholesale markets, allowing consumers to taste the "sweet taste" from Southeast Asia for the first time.

Durian fruit flesh is high in sugar and moisture, prone to fermentation and spoilage, and has a short shelf life. Freshness is life. If durian is delayed for an extra hour, its quality will be greatly reduced, "said Liu Juan, the South China Customs Director of Shenzhen Ouheng Import and Export Co., Ltd., an importer." We can make an appointment for customs clearance 3-5 days in advance. Imported durian can basically arrive at the port and be tested on the same day, and can be put on the market within two days, which maximizes freshness and strengthens market competitiveness

From Asia Pacific connectivity to food connectivity, durian, although small, is a vivid epitome of trade connectivity in the Asia Pacific region. It is understood that the vast majority of imported durians at Shenzhen Port come from APEC member economies. Shenzhen Customs closely connects with the trade facilitation needs of the APEC region, providing "7 × 24-hour" appointment clearance services, strengthening the rapid linkage between ports and testing technology centers, achieving immediate sample inspection upon arrival, and establishing a full chain quarantine defense line. At the same time, the checkpoint utilizes fruit inspection robots, embedded with intelligent recognition algorithms for fruit labels, to achieve "second level" verification of factors such as product name and place of origin, improving inspection efficiency by more than 30%, and helping durian compete for "freshness" in the market.

At present, it is the peak season for durian. We have already grasped the import volume and shipping schedule of durian in advance, opened a green inspection channel for fresh fruits, and coordinated the allocation of fruit inspection stations to ensure that the goods are inspected upon arrival, "said Zhang Zejia, head of the Inspection Department of Shekou Customs.

Since April this year, Shenzhen Customs has supervised 1062 batches of imported fresh durian from other APEC economies, weighing 9400 tons and valued at 301 million yuan, an increase of 98.23%, 68.42%, and 48.27% year-on-year, respectively. (Tang Zhenglong, Qin Zhizi, Zhang Xuezhou/Wen)