Market procurement and export of pre packaged food. Guangzhou exports 376 million yuan annually (see chart)

The picture shows customs officers inspecting pre packaged food exported through market procurement trade methods. Photo by Guan Yue

On March 5th, at the Dongwang International Food Wholesale Market in Liwan, Guangzhou, a batch of pre packaged foods such as potato chips and beverages with a value of about 235000 yuan were exported to Thailand in groups through market procurement trade after being issued inspection and quarantine electronic records by Liwan Customs officers under Guangzhou Customs.

Guangzhou is a "millennium commercial city" with many professional markets and small and medium-sized enterprises. Pre packaged food often has the characteristics of multiple export batches, small single batch sizes, and a variety of food types. Since the pilot program for purchasing and exporting pre packaged food in the market was launched in Guangzhou on February 28, 2025, relevant policy dividends have continued to be released. Market procurement trade, with its advantages of simplified declaration, convenient customs clearance, exemption from value-added tax, and flexible foreign exchange collection, helps small and medium-sized enterprises lower the threshold for going global. Over the past year, the cumulative export value of pre packaged food products from various markets in Guangzhou has reached 376 million yuan, covering 51 countries and regions worldwide.

Guangzhou Dongwang Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd. is one of the first enterprises to participate in the pilot program of "trying new things". Tang Heng, the chairman of the company, said, "In the past, the export of pre packaged food needed to be classified and applied for and inspected by the customs of the production site of pre packaged food. Now, no matter where the food comes from in the country, it can be exported smoothly with only 'one declaration and one inspection' in Guangzhou, saving nearly 10000 yuan in comprehensive cost per container on average." It is reported that the company has exported pre packaged food for more than 38 million yuan through market procurement trade.

Guangzhou Customs, together with Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce and other departments, has issued a special work plan to break through the multiple restrictions on origin, category, etc. in traditional trade, expand the origin of pre packaged food for market procurement and export from Guangzhou to the whole country (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), expand the category to 10 major categories, and expand the export countries (regions) to more than 90, effectively releasing the policy advantages of "value-added tax exemption, simplified customs clearance, and flexible foreign exchange collection" and "lightweight export" in market procurement and trade, and opening up a new path for the export of Guangzhou's pre packaged food advantages and characteristic industries.

Xie Shudong, Chief of the Market Procurement Supervision Section of Liwan Customs, said: "The pilot precisely fits the needs of emerging markets with policy flexibility. Hundreds of enterprises and merchants participated in the pilot" going out in groups ", and the value of goods in countries that jointly build the" the Belt and Road "accounted for more than 90%. ”Liwan Customs will continue to promote the formation of a good market procurement and trade ecology with "strong supervision, warm service, and fast development". (Guan Yue/Text)