The Chongzuo area of the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) optimized its customs clearance mode to ensure the freshness of imported fruit from ASEAN countries.

The person in charge of Wanchengxi (Guangxi) International Trade said that their company imports more than 300 containers of Vietnamese durian a month. This year, the company's total number of imported Vietnamese durian containers is more than 1000, which is worth more than 600 million yuan ($87 million) in foreign exchange. As the import of fruits slowly peaks, the company will increase the quantity of imported durian to meet the needs of domestic consumers.

The requirements to import fruits, including logistics transportation, warehousing and customs clearance time, are very high. In order to ensure the freshness of fruits, the customs clearance of light and heavy vehicles was implemented at Youyiguan Port.

By the end of March, Youyiguan Port's import and export cargo volume increased by more than 86.32 percent year on year, and the total number of vehicles entering and exiting the port also increased by 131.49 percent.

After ASEAN fruits enter the Pingxiang area of the port, Youyiguan Customs provides them with "green channels" and "7x24 hours" customs reservation modes.

Pingxiang is the largest and most convenient land route from China to Vietnam and Southeast Asia, making it the largest port for fruit import and export between China and ASEAN. About 50 percent of Southeast Asian fruits entering in China's domestic market were imported from Pingxiang.

In recent years, Pingxiang has continuously optimized its services to ensure the smooth flow of all of its ports, and promoted the import of high-quality fruits from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and other ASEAN countries.

The Pingxiang Comprehensive Bonded Zone. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_df8bc987e060]