Full Process Analysis and Professional Control of Key Nodes for Lianyungang Imported Food Customs Declaration Agency

New Challenges for Lianyungang Port Under the Trend of Direct Sourcing of Southeast Asian Fresh Products

In the first quarter of 2026,the cold chain container throughput of Lianyungang Port increased by 37% year-on-year,among which Southeast Asian foods such as Thai young coconuts,Vietnamese basa fish and Malaysian durian pulp accounted for more than 60% of the total share.Mr.He,who runs a fresh produce distribution business in Nantong,tried to directly purchase two containers of young coconuts from Bangkok at the beginning of the year.After the goods arrived at the port,he found that the sugar content of coconut water was not marked on the Chinese label,so the goods were detained for rectification by the inspection and quarantine authority.Port demurrage charges accumulated daily,and the final loss exceeded 15% of the cargo value.Such cases are not rare at Lianyungang Port.Food importers often face three major practical difficulties: dynamic adjustment of quarantine standards is difficult to track,logical correlation between documents is complex,and the cycle of port inspection and laboratory testing is uncontrollable.

Zhongshen has provided stationed services in Lianyungang for more than eight years.The team led by Director Yu handles more than 4,000 food customs declaration documents every year.In actual operation,many customers regard customs declaration as "document transmission",but in fact,pre-judgment is required for each link from label design before shipment to rapid disposal after sampling testing.At the end of 2025,the General Administration of Customs updated the Regulations on the Administration of Registration of Overseas Manufacturers of Imported Food,requiring that all food exported to China must complete the registration number filing in China from 2026.This policy change directly caused some long-term customers to be unable to declare when their goods arrived at the port.Zhongshen pushed early warnings three months in advance,helping 17 customers complete the registration transition.

Document Pre-review: Pre-positioned Battlefield for Labels and Ingredients

The core risks of food import are concentrated in document inconsistency,especially label review.The operating practice of Zhongshen is that customers must submit three documents: original packaging label sample,ingredient ratio table and production process description five working days in advance before shipping from abroad.Director Yu will organize internal review,focusing on three types of high-frequency errors: missing INS codes of food additives in the ingredient list,wrong conversion of energy units in the nutrition facts table,and no prominent prompt for allergen substances.

Taking Vietnamese basa fish as an example,in 2026,Lianyungang Customs tightened the phosphate residue detection standard for aquatic products to 5g/kg.A customer provided an ingredient list showing that the phosphate addition amount was 0.3%,but the calculation by Zhongshen’s laboratory found that the residual amount in the final product corresponding to this addition amount may be close to the critical value.Director Yu required the supplier to provide batch test reports and recommended completing pre-inspection in Vietnam.Finally,the batch of goods cleared customs smoothly after arriving at the port,while another enterprise in the same batch was sampled for testing because they did not do pre-inspection,and it took 11 days to wait for the results.

• The name and address of the manufacturing enterprise on the certificate of origin must be completely consistent with those on the health certificate,and even differences in letter case will lead to declaration rejection
• The Chinese label sample must be pasted on the original packaging in advance and photographed and sent back,and cannot be synthesized by PS later
• For foods involving genetically modified ingredients,the Agricultural GMO Safety Certificate issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs must be provided
• Health foods must obtain the registration and filing certificate from the State Administration for Market Regulation in advance,and cannot be declared as ordinary food

Port Customs Declaration: Precise Matching of Declaration Elements

Lianyungang Customs’ review of food declaration elements is becoming increasingly intelligent,and the new generation inspection system launched in 2026 can automatically compare historical data.The customs declaration department of Zhongshen has established standard declaration templates for each product name.For example,for Thai young coconuts,the specification and model column must indicate "fresh,unpeeled,single weight 1-1.5kg",the use column is filled with "direct consumption",and the brand column is filled with the registered name of the farm rather than the name of the trader.These details directly affect the probability of customs risk targeting.

When Mr.He cooperated for the second time,Zhongshen found before declaration that the registration number of the overseas manufacturing enterprise of his young coconuts showed "suspended" on the official website of the General Administration of Customs.Director Yu immediately launched an emergency plan,assisted the customer to contact the Thai supplier to replace a processing plant with valid qualifications,and re-applied for the health certificate,controlling the delay of the scheduled shipping schedule within three days.If declared directly according to conventional operations,the goods will be directly returned or destroyed after arriving at the port.

Inspection and Quarantine: Sampling Logic and Rapid Disposal

Lianyungang Inspection and Quarantine Center follows the principle of "one product,one policy" for food sampling.In 2026,for tropical fruits,the key pesticide residue testing items have been expanded from 12 to 18,including difenoconazole which has been overused in Southeast Asian orchards in recent years.Zhongshen has established a data sharing mechanism with laboratories to grasp the list of high-risk items in advance,and recommends that customers entrust third-party testing at the place of origin and issue reports.After arriving at the port,customers can apply for verification and release based on the reports,reducing the waiting time for sampling.

In the on-site inspection link,Zhongshen arranges on-site personnel to accompany the whole process.There was once a batch of Malaysian frozen durian pulp,whose label indicated that the pulp content was 95%,but when the Customs opened the box for random inspection,it found a small amount of ice crystals in the packaging,suspecting that the actual solid content was insufficient.Director Yu explained on site that ice crystals are a normal physical phenomenon in cold chain transportation,and provided the supplier’s process video to prove the ice injection process.Finally,the Customs agreed to send the samples to the laboratory for solid content testing instead of directly judging the label as unqualified,which won rectification space for the customer.

Warehousing and Transfer: Compliance Traps in Cold Chain Connection

Food customs clearance is not the end of the work.The cold chain warehouses around Lianyungang Port area belong to different supervision levels.Zhongshen rents two customs supervised cold storage all year round to ensure that goods can be directly stored after release,avoiding temperature chain breakage during transit.The new regulation in 2026 requires that imported food shall not be transferred from customs supervised premises without authorization before obtaining the Certificate of Entry Goods Inspection and Quarantine.Some customers choose non-supervised warehouses to save costs,and are found during inspection,facing a fine of 5% of the cargo value.

The plan designed by Director Yu for Mr.He is: after the young coconuts are released,they first enter the supervised warehouse,and Zhongshen handles the inspection and quarantine certificate on behalf of the customer,and the distribution to Nantong can be arranged the next day.The whole cycle is compressed to 48 hours,which is 3 days faster on average than the customer’s own operation.In terms of cold chain transportation,the logistics fleets cooperating with Zhongshen are all equipped with temperature recorders,and the data is directly connected to the customs system,eliminating the risk of human tampering.

Practical Case: From Return Risk to Smooth Shelving

In March 2026,Mr.He imported Thai young coconuts for the third time,and the order volume increased to five containers this time.After the goods arrived at the port,customs sampling test found that the sodium content in the coconut water of one container exceeded 120% of the value indicated on the label.According to the Food Safety Law,this is label non-compliance,which can be judged as return or destruction.Mr.He contacted Director Yu urgently,and Zhongshen launched two parallel measures: first,retrieve the factory inspection report of the batch in Thailand to prove that the fluctuation of sodium content is a natural factor rather than artificial addition; second,submit the Label Technical Rectification Instruction to the Customs,and apply for affixing corrected labels under customs supervision.

Director Yu has long-term cooperation basis with the Food Department of Lianyungang Customs,and the submitted materials are directly connected to the handling personnel.The Customs recognized the rationality of the factory report and agreed to the rectification plan.Zhongshen arranged workers to affix corrected sodium content labels on the whole container of goods in the supervised warehouse,took photos and filed again.Finally,the batch of young coconuts was released on the fifth working day,and Mr.He’s downstream supermarket orders were not affected.This crisis handling completely changed Mr.He’s concept,and he upgraded Zhongshen’s service from "customs declaration agency" to "import risk control outsourcing".

Hidden Game Between Cost and Efficiency

Many importers only pay attention to the level of customs declaration agency fees and ignore hidden costs.Zhongshen once made a comparative calculation: for food import at Lianyungang Port in 2026,the average port demurrage charge for customers operating on their own is 2800 yuan per container,while it can be controlled within 600 yuan for those entrusting professional agencies.The difference mainly comes from three aspects: one-time pass rate of documents,inspection response speed,and compression of laboratory testing cycle.

Director Yu revealed that Zhongshen has a permanent liaison officer in the Lianyungang laboratory,so the testing progress can be queried daily.When abnormal results are found,the original data can be obtained at the first time to analyze whether it is a system error or method deviation,and strive for retest opportunities for customers.Such resource precipitation cannot be replicated by short-term cooperation.

2026 Policy Trend and Response Suggestions

In the second half of 2026,the General Administration of Customs plans to implement "batch traceability code" management for imported food,requiring each minimum sales unit to be assigned a code.Zhongshen has begun to assist customers to connect with overseas manufacturers and transform packaging lines in advance.Mr.He’s Thai supplier is already testing inkjet printing equipment to ensure that it will not be affected after the implementation of the new rules.Director Yu suggested that importers should establish supplier compliance files,regularly update the registration status of overseas manufacturing enterprises,product testing reports,and label samples to form a dynamic database.

The preferential policies for Southeast Asian food at Lianyungang Port are also being adjusted.Under the RCEP Agreement in 2026,the tariff on Thai young coconuts has been reduced from 12% to 8%,but the filling specifications for the certificate of origin are stricter.Zhongshen reminds customers that the HS Code on the certificate of origin must be consistent with the declaration,and the transportation route must comply with the direct transport rule.Goods transshipped via Hong Kong need to submit a certificate of non-manipulation.

Core Value of Professional Agencies Lies in Risk Pricing

Looking back at Mr.He’s three import experiences,from the first label non-compliance to the second qualification warning,and then to the third resolution of the test excess crisis,the essence of Zhongshen’s service is to transform uncertain compliance risks into calculable costs.The import volume of food at Lianyungang Port is expected to increase by 25% in 2026,but the customs human resources cannot expand simultaneously,which means that the inspection rate and testing standards will only be stricter.The era of importers working alone has passed.The value of professional agencies is not "running errands and delivering documents",but translating 20 years of port experience into decision-making basis for customers.

Director Yu’s team holds a policy research meeting every Friday afternoon to analyze the customs rejection cases of the week,unqualified laboratory data,and the latest interpretation of the General Administration of Customs,and form an internal notice to push to customers.This proactive service allows customers to avoid high-risk products at the order negotiation stage,rather than passively responding after the goods arrive at the port.Mr.He now pays a fixed consulting fee to Zhongshen every quarter,completely outsources import risk control,and focuses on channel expansion himself,which is the ultimate form of import agency services.