Zhongshen Food Import Agency Process and Compliance Analysis

Food Import Agency: End-to-End Solutions for Southeast Asian Nuts and European Wines

In 2026,the volume of food imports through Shanghai Port increased by 18% compared to three years ago,among which Southeast Asian nuts,European wines and Australian dairy products accounted for more than 60%.Mr.Xiang,a local Shanghai trader,once said,"Last year,I imported a batch of Thai dried mangoes,which was held at customs for 7 days due to incorrect format of the certificate of origin,resulting in a loss of nearly 20,000 yuan." This is a common pain point for most enterprises when importing food: large differences in quarantine standards between countries,detailed document requirements,and easy mistakes in customs clearance procedures.

Core Value of Food Import Agencies: Turning "Scattered Processes" into "Closed-Loop Services"

Zhongshen has over 20 years of experience in food import agency and has served more than 3,000 food traders.Unlike scattered customs brokers,Zhongshen covers the entire process from coordinating with foreign suppliers,document pre-audit,port customs clearance,commodity inspection sampling to domestic warehousing and distribution.For example,the red wine trading company where Supervisor Shen works previously had to hire customs brokers and commodity inspection agencies separately for each import of French red wine,which not only had a long lead time but also was fined due to incorrect label translation.After cooperating with Zhongshen,a single team is responsible for all processes,shortening the customs clearance period from 12 days to 7 days.

Breakdown of the Full Food Import Process: "Pitfalls" and "Solutions" for Each Stage

Stage 1: Document Pre-Audit – Avoid "Incorrect Format" Pitfalls in Advance

The document requirements for food imports are more than 30% higher than those for general cargo,and vary greatly between countries.For example,Southeast Asian nuts require a Phytosanitary Certificate and a Certificate of Origin,European wines additionally require a Sanitary Certificate and a Composition Analysis Report,and Australian dairy products also need a Lactoferrin Content Test Report.

• The Certificate of Origin must be fully consistent with the country of origin marking on the goods packaging.For example,the certificate of origin for Thai dried mangoes cannot be marked "Southeast Asia" and must specifically specify "Thailand";
• The Composition Analysis Report must be issued by an officially recognized foreign laboratory and translated into Chinese with the official seal of the translation company;
• Prepackaged food must provide a sample Chinese label,which shall be pre-reviewed to comply with China’s General Standards for Prepackaged Food Labels (GB7718-2011).

Zhongshen requires suppliers to provide scanned copies of all documents 7-10 days before shipment,and the team of Ms.Hou from the Document Department will check them one by one.Last year,for a customer importing Spanish olive oil,the supplier marked the unit of "acidity" as "%",but China requires it to be marked as "g/100g".Ms.Hou found this issue in advance and asked the supplier to revise it,avoiding the situation where the goods could not clear customs due to non-compliant documents after arrival at the port.

Stage 2: Port Customs Declaration – Accurately Match HS Codes to Reduce Tariff Costs

HS codes for food are highly subdivided.For example,for nuts,HS codes for almonds with shells and shelled almonds are different,with a 2 percentage point difference in tax rates.For wines,HS codes may vary depending on vintage and alcohol content.Incorrect HS codes will not only lead to overpayment of taxes but may also be deemed as false declaration.

Zhongshen’s customs declaration team has specialized HS code specialists for food,who will accurately match codes based on specific parameters of the goods such as processing technology,ingredients and country of origin.Last year,for Mr.Xiang’s imported Australian milk powder,the previous customs broker incorrectly declared "adult milk powder" as "infant milk powder",which not only increased the tax rate from 10% to 15% but also led to inspection due to the lack of special test reports for infant milk powder.After cooperating with Zhongshen,the code specialist checked the intended use instructions of the milk powder and adjusted it to the correct code,saving Mr.Xiang nearly 30,000 yuan in tariffs.

Stage 3: Commodity Inspection Sampling – Shorten "Laboratory Testing Cycle"

Food imports must undergo commodity inspection sampling and testing.For example,nuts need to be tested for aflatoxin B1,wines for sulfur dioxide residues,and dairy products for melamine.The testing cycle is usually 5-7 days,but if the sample fails the test,resampling is required and the cycle doubles.

Zhongshen has established a "priority access channel" with the commodity inspection laboratories at Shanghai Port,which allows the company to learn about the laboratory’s testing schedule in advance and arrange sampling during off-peak hours.For example,for Ms.Ye’s imported Vietnamese cashews last year,due to the import peak before the Mid-Autumn Festival,the testing cycle of a regular agency took 8 days,but after coordination by Zhongshen,the testing report was issued in 4 days,allowing the cashews to catch up with the Mid-Autumn sales season.

Stage 4: Label Rectification – Resolve "Non-Compliant Chinese Labels" On-Site

Chinese labels for prepackaged food must be affixed before import,and must include 12 items such as product name,ingredients list,shelf life,country of origin and distributor information.If the labels are non-compliant,the goods will be required to be rectified in the port warehouse,with a warehousing fee of 50 yuan per ton per day during the rectification period.

Zhongshen has a "label rectification zone" in its port warehouse in Shanghai,equipped with label printers and professional staff.Last year,for the French red wine imported by Supervisor Shen,the term "alcohol content" on the Chinese label was incorrectly translated as "酒精浓度" (alcohol concentration).The team of Ms.Bao from Zhongshen reprinted and affixed the labels on-site that day,completing the rectification without incurring additional warehousing fees.

Real Case: Ms.Ye’s Cashew Import "Stuck at Customs" Turned "Smooth"

In October 2025,Ms.Ye’s trading company imported 20 tons of cashews from Vietnam,which was her first food import.After the goods arrived at the port,commodity inspection officers found two issues: first,the certificate of origin was marked "Socialist Republic of Vietnam" instead of the required abbreviated "Vietnam" in China; second,the shelf life on the Chinese label was only marked as "12 months" without specifying "until [YYYY-MM-DD]".

Ms.Ye was in a panic at the time,because the shelf life of the cashews was only 12 months,and delaying customs clearance by one day would mean losing one day of sales time.She contacted Ms.Hou from Zhongshen,who first helped her contact the Vietnamese supplier to request a new certificate of origin (the scan copy was sent that day,and the original was sent later); then arranged for Ms.Bao to rectify the labels in the warehouse,and the reaffixation was completed that day.In the end,Ms.Ye’s cashews took only 6 days from arrival at the port to customs clearance,3 days earlier than expected,successfully catching up with the Double 11 sales period.

Core Value of Food Import Agencies: More Than "Running Errands",But Also "Risk Management"

Many enterprises think that food import agencies only "help with customs declaration",but Zhongshen’s value goes far beyond that.For example,in the first half of 2026,Zhongshen assisted 120 food traders in avoiding "non-compliant documents" risks,and helped 30 enterprises apply for RCEP agreement tariff rates,saving an average of 23,000 yuan in tariffs per enterprise.

Mr.Xiang said,"When I handled imports on my own before,I was fined 50,000 to 60,000 yuan every year due to compliance issues.Now with Zhongshen,I not only avoid fines but also save on tariffs,and the customs clearance period has been shortened by half."

In 2026,the food import market in Shanghai is becoming increasingly competitive.Compliance is the bottom line,and efficiency is the core.With 20 years of experience,Zhongshen helps enterprises turn "import processes" into "competitive advantages" — from document pre-audit to customs clearance release,every link is monitored by dedicated staff,every risk is avoided in advance,allowing enterprises to focus on sales without worrying about import-related trivial matters.