Zero tariff dividend unleashes rapid import of African fresh fruits (pictured)

The picture shows: Customs officers supervising imported fresh fruits from Africa on site, photographed by Liu Zhijun

Recently, a batch of African fresh fruits weighing 148 tons were released after passing inspection and quarantine by Shenzhen Bay Customs and sold to major supermarkets in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. Since May of this year, China has fully implemented zero tariff measures for African countries with diplomatic relations. In order to ensure the rapid arrival of a large number of African fresh fruits in Chinese fruit baskets, the speed of inspection and release of African fresh fruits at Shenzhen Bay Port has significantly increased.

Shenzhen Jianchengye International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. is a professional cross-border fresh food cold chain service provider. After the implementation of the zero tariff policy, the number of African fruits on the shelves has significantly increased, and the proportion of African fresh fruits in our imported fresh fruits has increased by about 10% compared to the same period last year, "said Luo Shengcong, the general manager of the company." The reason why African fruits are popular in the market is mainly because the seasons in some African countries are opposite to those in China. Grapefruits, fresh oranges and other fruits can fill the gap in the domestic winter and spring markets, and the quality is stable. The most important thing is that after zero tariff, the price is affordable, and we have more confidence in expanding imports

To achieve rapid delivery of African fresh fruits, Shenzhen Customs relies on the construction of smart customs and embeds technological means into the full chain supervision of fruit imports. This level has launched a combination of "early declaration+intelligent verification+green channel" measures. The document review is completed before the goods arrive at the port. After arrival at the port, the label can be checked in seconds and the cold processing data can be automatically compared. Qualified batches of goods can be checked and released immediately after inspection, and the entire cold chain is continuously linked.

We are empowered by technology to compress inspection time while ensuring safety, allowing African fresh fruits to reach the domestic market as quickly as possible, "said Wan Qi, Deputy Director of Inspection Department Seven at Shenzhen Bay Customs.

In the first eight months of this year, Shenzhen Customs inspected and supervised 40900 tons of fresh fruits imported from Africa, with a value of 331 million yuan. (Chen Xiaoyu, Liao Hanbiao, Liu Zhijun/text)