"Nansha Port gets off to a good start with cherry imports" (photo)

The picture shows customs officers supervising the first batch of imported cherries at Guangzhou Nansha Port in 2026. Photographed by Guan Yue

According to Guangzhou Customs, at 1:00 a.m. on January 2, amidst the long blare of the ship's horn, the cargo ship "Maersk Skarstind" loaded with Chilean cherries slowly berthed at the Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port. The ship carried 980 containers of Chilean cherries, marking the first shipment of imported cherries to arrive at Guangzhou Nansha Port in 2026. At 9:00 a.m. on the same day, the "MSC Palak" cherry express successfully berthed, carrying 353 containers of Chilean cherries.

Within 10 hours, two ships carrying over 1,300 containers and weighing approximately 26,000 tons of imported cherries arrived at the port in succession, ushering in a "good start" for the import of fresh fruits at Guangzhou Nansha Port with the strong momentum of "two ships arriving simultaneously", adding a fresh and sweet color to the New Year fruit baskets of domestic consumers.

As the largest cherry import port in China, Guangzhou Nansha Port leverages the logistics advantage of direct express lines, enabling cherries from the Chilean production area to reach the port directly across the ocean in approximately 22 days. Upon berthing, with the support of convenient measures such as "early declaration" and "direct pickup at the ship's side" by customs, the containers are automatically sorted, and the cherry containers that do not need to be piled up for inspection can directly sail to the "Asia's largest single refrigerator" - Guangzhou Nansha International Cold Chain Inspection Center,

After the customs officers conducted rapid inspection and quarantine to facilitate the safe and swift unloading and customs clearance of cherries, they could be delivered to the Guangzhou Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in as fast as 2 hours.

"This year, the customs clearance efficiency in Nansha, Guangzhou has further improved. During the new cherry season in the southern hemisphere from 2025 to 2026, with the increase in the volume of cherries arriving at the port, the import container volume cleared by our company through Nansha customs has increased by nearly 30% compared to the same period last year," said Lu Zhan, the customs director of Guangdong Yulonghui Supply Chain Co., Ltd. "The 'Rabins' and 'Santina' varieties that arrived this time are full in fruit diameter and meet the sweetness standard. Thanks to the convenient customs clearance policies of 'early declaration' and 'shipside sorting', all documents were pre-reviewed before the goods arrived at the port, and the inspection and release were carried out quickly after unloading. This allows us to connect with buyers nationwide in the first place, and the goods can be delivered to major cities across the country within 24 hours."

As of now, a total of 3,948 containers of cherries have been cleared through customs at Guangzhou Nansha Port for the new 2025-2026 southern hemisphere cherry season, representing a 20% increase compared to the same period in the previous season. It is estimated that another 10 ships of cherries will pass through customs during the entire season. (Guan Yue/Text)