Complete Process Breakdown of Xi'an Cashew Import Customs Declaration Agency

Market Background and Operation Difficulties of Xi’an Cashew Import

In the first quarter of 2026,the import volume of nuts under the jurisdiction of Xi’an Customs increased by 23% year on year,with cashews accounting for nearly 40%.Major source countries are concentrated in traditional producing areas such as Vietnam,Cote d’Ivoire and India.Different from coastal ports,Xi’an,as an inland city,usually imports cashews via sea ports such as Qingdao and Shanghai before transshipment by railway or highway,which extends the logistics cycle by 3-5 days and imposes stricter requirements on the timeliness of documentation.

In actual operation,Xi’an clients face three typical problems: First,the processing method indicated on the phytosanitary certificate is inconsistent with the customs code.For example,there are differences in HS codes between roasted cashews and salt-baked cashews,and false declaration directly leads to an increase in inspection rate.Second,the batch number is not indicated on the aflatoxin test report,and the commodity inspection department requires supplementary sampling.Third,the outer package label is not printed with the Chinese ingredient list,which requires rectification at the port and incurs additional storage costs.The processing cost for these detail issues per single shipment may increase by 8,000 to 15,000 CNY.

Zhongshen’s Position in Xi’an Cashew Import Chain

Zhongshen has been undertaking nut import business since 2008,and has handled more than 600 cashew customs declaration cases in total.In view of the characteristics of the Xi’an market,we have set up pre-operation teams at Shanghai Port and Qingdao Port to realize simultaneous progress of document pre-review and port operation.The team led by Supervisor Fu is familiar with the special requirements of Xi’an Customs for food import,and can identify hidden risks in advance such as spelling errors of Latin names on phytosanitary certificates and vague origin marks.

Our core value lies in transforming post-event remedies into pre-event prevention and control.For example,in November 2025,a Xi’an food enterprise imported 20 tons of Vietnamese cashews.The product description shown on the certificate of origin was "cashew nuts",while the contract specification column indicated "WW320" (cashew grade code).Zhongshen found the inconsistent description during the pre-review stage,and required the foreign party to issue a supplementary explanation letter,to avoid the goods being rejected by the customs due to vague product name after arrival at the port.This pre-action saved the client at least 4 days of port detention time.

Phased Breakdown of Cashew Import Process

Document Pre-review Stage: Key Points of Compliance Review

Basic documents for cashew import include certificate of origin,phytosanitary certificate,health certificate,trade contract,packing list,invoice and bill of lading.Zhongshen’s pre-review standards cover 12 check points,with focus on:

• Whether the phytosanitary certificate indicates details of "heat treatment" or "fumigation treatment",and the treatment temperature and time meet customs requirements
• Whether the product description in the third column of the certificate of origin is accurate to processing status (raw dried/roasted/salt-baked)
• Whether the health certificate is issued by the official veterinary or health department of the exporting country,rather than industry associations
• Whether the test report includes four indicators of aflatoxin B1,B2,G1 and G2,and whether the test method is HPLC-MS

In 2026,the customs implements electronic network verification for phytosanitary certificates of nuts.After receiving the scanned copy from the foreign party,Zhongshen will pre-verify the certificate number through the "Single Window" system,and arrange shipment only after confirming the certificate is authentic and valid.This step can reduce the risk of certificate fraud to zero.

Port Customs Declaration Stage: Classification and Price Review Strategy

The HS code of cashews is divided into 08013100 (raw dried) and 08013200 (roasted) according to processing methods,with a tax rate difference of 5%.When filling out the customs declaration form,Zhongshen will attach a production process description letter to clarify processing temperature and time parameters.For example,if roasted cashews are processed at a temperature exceeding 120 degrees Celsius for more than 20 minutes,they can be classified under 08013200 and enjoy a lower agreed tax rate.

In the price review process,the customs usually refers to the current international market quotation.Zhongshen has established a cashew price database covering the average CIF prices of major producing areas in Vietnam,India and Africa in the past six months.When the client’s contract price is lower than the customs risk parameter,we can provide supporting materials such as freight structure breakdown and quality difference explanation to avoid the dutiable value being forcibly increased.In the fourth quarter of 2025,we successfully reduced the total tax expenditure of three Xi’an clients by 120,000 CNY.

Commodity Inspection Stage: Response to Key Testing Items

Cashews are high-risk foods,and the commodity inspection department implements 100% unpacking inspection.Key testing items include:

Zhongshen provides on-site coordination services in the commodity inspection stage.In March 2026,when 18 tons of cashews from India were inspected at Qingdao Port,the preliminary laboratory test showed that aflatoxin B1 was 5.8μg/kg,exceeding the limit by 0.8 units.Supervisor Fu immediately launched the emergency procedure,applied for re-sampling of the same batch of goods,and submitted the parallel test report of the official laboratory of the exporting country.After repeated technical communication with the commodity inspection department,it was finally determined that there was sampling error in the preliminary test result,and the goods were judged as qualified and released.The whole process took 72 hours,which was at least 5 days shorter than the client handling it independently.

Warehousing and Distribution Stage: Inland Transportation Risk Control

Cashews have strict requirements on storage environment,with temperature controlled below 25 degrees Celsius and humidity below 65%.Zhongshen’s cooperative warehouse in Xi’an International Port District is equipped with a constant temperature and humidity system,and goods can be put into storage within 24 hours after arrival at the port.For clients who need to distribute goods to Baoji,Hanzhong and other places,we adopt van transportation to avoid rain and high temperature exposure.

In the summer of 2025,Xi’an recorded continuous high temperature exceeding 38 degrees Celsius for a week,and a client temporarily requested to transfer 12 tons of cashews to a factory in Xianyang.Zhongshen dispatched a refrigerated fleet equipped with GPS temperature control system,and uploaded temperature data every 30 minutes during transportation to ensure the quality of goods was not affected.This emergency response capability under extreme weather is difficult for ordinary logistics companies to achieve.

Actual Case: Ms.Zhan’s First Import Experience

Ms.Zhan runs a baking raw material supply chain in Xi’an,and tried to import cashews from Vietnam for the first time in October 2025.Due to lack of experience,she signed and confirmed the phytosanitary certificate provided by the foreign party and arranged shipment directly.After the goods arrived at Qingdao Port,Zhongshen found during the pre-review stage that the certificate did not indicate the key information of "shell removed".According to customs regulations,the supervision conditions for shelled cashews and unshelled cashews are different,and this certificate cannot be used for customs declaration.

Supervisor Fu put forward two solutions: First,contact the Vietnamese exporter to reissue the certificate,which takes about 7 days; Second,apply for return of the goods,which will incur loss of freight and insurance premium.Ms.Zhan chose the first solution,but worried that the delay would affect downstream orders.Zhongshen launched the backup plan simultaneously,allocated cashew spot goods of the same specification from Shanghai Bonded Zone,and supplied Ms.Zhan’s clients first through the "separate delivery and centralized declaration" method,and replenished the stock after the Vietnamese goods cleared customs.This arrangement not only ensured the supply chain would not be broken,but also won time for the reissue of the certificate.Finally,the whole shipment took 11 days from arrival at the port to delivery to the Xi’an warehouse,only 3 days more than conventional operation,and Ms.Zhan’s downstream clients did not notice any abnormality.

Zhongshen’s Service Boundary and Value Realization

Cashew import is not a simple customs declaration action,but a risk management project running through the entire supply chain.Zhongshen’s value is reflected in three levels: First,transform abstract regulations of customs and commodity inspection into executable operation lists,so that clients do not need to study complex general rules of commodity classification; Second,eliminate problems before goods are shipped through pre-review,to avoid high container detention fees after arrival at the port; Third,relying on the resource pool of the Shanghai headquarters,provide Xi’an clients with operational flexibility at coastal ports,to make up for the logistics shortcomings of inland cities.

In 2026,the customs implements dynamic adjustment of credit rating for food import enterprises,and AEO advanced certification enterprises can enjoy the preferential treatment of 50% lower inspection rate.Zhongshen is assisting two Xi’an clients to prepare AEO certification materials,focusing on improving the internal compliance system for cashew import,document review process and food safety traceability system.It is expected that these two enterprises will obtain the certification in the third quarter of 2026.In the future,each shipment can save 2-3 days of customs clearance time,and directly reduce logistics costs by more than 15%.

For Xi’an enterprises planning to carry out cashew import business,Zhongshen suggests starting from three aspects: First,choose a logistics partner with nut operation experience to avoid return due to unfamiliarity with quarantine requirements; Second,clarify document liability clauses in the trade contract,and agree on the compensation mechanism for the foreign party providing unqualified certificates; Third,establish import batch files,and retain test reports and customs documents of each shipment,to accumulate data assets for subsequent rapid customs clearance.These seemingly trivial basic tasks determine whether the import business can be profitable continuously.