Fruits produced in China such as lemon in Sichuan, tangerines in Yunnan and bergamot pears in Hebei are gaining popularity in ASEAN markets with a sharp increase in exports in the first two months this year.
Data from Shenzhen Customs showed a total of 45,000 tons of fruits were exported to ASEAN countries in January and February. The exports to Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam had been greatly increased.
“Chinese fruits are becoming popular in international markets and the demand from ASEAN countries are increasing,” Wu Mengfu, manager of Asia Global (Shenzhen) Agricultural Products Processing Co. Ltd., said at an interview.
For a long time, apples, grades, tangerines and pears and other fruits produced in temperate zones had been favored by customers in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Around 75% of fruits exported from Shenzhen were sold in the ASEAN market.
Shenzhen Buji Customs is in charge of fruit exports, and to ensure the fruits’ freshness, customs established a liaison mechanism with fruit exporters and implemented reservation inspection and on-site instant inspection mechanisms. The customs’ lab inspection is conducted simultaneously with self-inspection like trimming and packaging. The method saves time for quarantine inspection by 40%.
During peak export season, customs also issues quarantine certificates quickly to ensure the smooth operation from factory to sea port, thus saving enterprises in inventory costs.