Southeast Asian Durian Import: Analysis of Key Steps for Compliant Customs Declaration

Southeast Asian Durian Import: Customs Clearance Pain Points Under High Demand

In 2026,the demand for Thai and Vietnamese durian in Shanghai’s terminal market increased by 22% year-on-year.Many local traders are targeting this business opportunity,but in actual operation,due to unfamiliarity with import compliance requirements,problems such as inconsistent documents and unqualified quarantine often occur.Last year,Mr.Long from a food trading company imported 3 containers of durian from Thailand.The "Monthong" variety marked on the certificate of origin was inconsistent with the "Kanyao" marked on the quarantine certificate,so he was required to make corrections by the commodity inspection department at Shanghai Pudong Port.During the cargo detention period,the accumulated storage fee exceeded 18,000 yuan,and he almost missed the peak sales season.

Zhongshen: Core Value of Durian Import Agency

As a local Shanghai company with over 20 years of in-depth experience in foreign trade agency,Zhongshen has established origin quarantine docking and document pre-review systems in advance in response to the characteristics of tropical fruit imports,which can help customers avoid more than 90% of common customs clearance risks.Manager Jiang introduced that their service is not simply "running errands for customs declaration",but intervenes before the order is signed to ensure every step complies with the latest 2026 import compliance requirements.

1.Document Pre-review: Avoid Risks of Inconsistent Documents in Advance

As a plant-derived food,there are 3 categories of core documents that must be provided before durian import,each with strict format requirements:

• Phytosanitary certificate issued by the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand (must indicate cold treatment temperature ≤0℃,duration ≥12 hours,and be affixed with the official quarantine seal)
• Certificate of origin (the consignor and variety information must be completely consistent with those on the bill of lading)
• Commercial invoice (HS code must accurately correspond to "0810909090",no other fruit codes shall be misused)

Zhongshen’s document pre-review process is completed 3 days before the goods are shipped: Manager Jiang’s team will check one by one whether the cold treatment parameters on the certificate comply with Chinese national standard GB 2762-2022,and whether the variety description on the certificate of origin is consistent with the customer’s order,to avoid customs clearance delays caused by minor wording discrepancies.Last year,Mr.Long’s company benefited from Zhongshen’s early detection of the variety inconsistency between the certificate of origin and the quarantine certificate.Zhongshen assisted in contacting the Thai supplier to make corrections within 24 hours,and the goods were only detained at the port for 1 day.

2.Port Customs Declaration: Fast Response to Customs Inspection Requirements

In 2026,Shanghai Customs has increased the inspection rate of tropical fruits to 15%,mainly checking whether the goods have been processed in designated cold treatment facilities and whether they carry quarantine pests.The core advantage of Zhongshen in the customs declaration link is "pre-declaration + on-site coordination":

One day before the goods arrive at the port,Zhongshen’s customs declaration team will submit pre-declaration data through the Customs Single Window,and lock the HS code and quarantine requirements in advance; after the goods arrive at the port,special personnel will be arranged for on-site coordination at the port.If the customs requires unpacking inspection,the inspection window can be coordinated at the first time,compressing the inspection time from the conventional 2-3 days to within 1 day.

3.Commodity Inspection Release: Focus on Verifying Cold Treatment Effectiveness

The most common bottleneck in the commodity inspection link of durian import is the "verification of cold treatment effectiveness" - the customs will check whether the cold treatment records on the quarantine certificate match the actual temperature data of the goods.Zhongshen will require the supplier to provide the qualification certificate of the cold treatment facility in advance,and assist the commodity inspection personnel to read the temperature recorder data of the container after the goods arrive at the port,to ensure that each batch of goods meets the requirements.

Practical Case: "Speed and Compliance" of Completing Customs Clearance in 3 Days

In March 2026,a Shanghai-based fresh food e-commerce company planned to import 5 containers of Thai Monthong durian.As it was the first time to engage in import business,it had limited knowledge of document and quarantine requirements.After contacting Zhongshen,Manager Jiang’s team completed 3 key tasks:

• Review the quarantine qualification of the Thai supplier before order signing,to confirm that its cold treatment facilities meet Chinese requirements
• Complete document pre-review 2 days before the goods are shipped,find that the "consignor address" on the certificate of origin is inconsistent with the actual information,and assist the supplier to modify it
• Complete customs pre-declaration within 1 day after the goods arrive at the port,cooperate with commodity inspection within 2 days,and complete release within 3 days

Finally,this batch of durian successfully entered the Shanghai market,5 days earlier than the customer’s expectation,avoiding losses caused by cargo deterioration.Mr.Long (the procurement director of the e-commerce company) said: "I used to think import customs declaration was very complicated,but I didn’t expect Zhongshen to help us avoid risks in each link in advance,which saved a lot of trouble."

Compliance Requirements and Risk Response Form for Each Stage of Durian Import

Summary: Professional Agency is the "Double Guarantee" for Import Efficiency and Compliance

In 2026,the compliance requirements for imported tropical fruits at Shanghai Port are becoming increasingly strict,and it is easy for enterprises to encounter problems if they only explore by themselves.With more than 20 years of industry experience,Zhongshen has established a full-process service system from document pre-review to commodity inspection release targeting the import characteristics of specific products such as durian,which can help customers improve customs clearance efficiency by more than 30% and reduce compliance risks to less than 5%.Whether it is a small and medium-sized trader engaged in import for the first time,or a large e-commerce with stable import demand,choosing professional import agency customs declaration services is the optimal solution to reduce costs and avoid risks.