Analysis of Huaian Maritime Import Agency Procedures and Compliance Essentials

Huaian Maritime Import Agency: Focusing on Difficulties in Importing Southeast Asian Food Products

In 2026,Port of Huai’an,as an important comprehensive port in northern Jiangsu,has maritime import business covering Southeast Asia,Europe and other regions.Among them,the import volume of Southeast Asian food products (such as palm oil and tropical fruits) increased by 12% year-on-year.However,many local trading enterprises in Huai’an often fall into a passive position due to unfamiliarity with the compliance requirements of the destination country and poor connection of port procedures.For example,last year,a Huai’an trading company imported Indonesian palm oil,but failed to pre-review the consistency of the certificate of origin and sanitary certificate in advance,resulting in a 7-day delay in port customs clearance and a direct increase in warehousing costs of over 20,000 yuan.

1.Core Role of Zhongshen in Huaian Maritime Import

In view of the characteristics of imports at Port of Huai’an,Zhongshen,with over 20 years of industry experience,focuses on solving three core issues: first,coordinating the document connection between local enterprises and overseas suppliers; second,aligning with the unique port quarantine procedures of Port of Huai’an; third,mitigating risks from the updated 2026 import food compliance regulations.For example,Ms.Xie from a local food trading company in Huai’an once commented,"Previously,when importing Thai durian,I did not know the pre-cooling quarantine requirements of Port of Huai’an for tropical fruits,resulting in goods being detained at the port.After seeking assistance from Manager Ji of Zhongshen,we completed customs clearance in 3 days."

Disassembly of Huaian Maritime Import Agency Procedures: From Document Pre-review to Port Release

In line with the latest requirements for imported food products at Port of Huai’an in 2026,Zhongshen divides the process into three core stages,each with compliance control points tailored to product characteristics:

1.Document Pre-review Stage: Mitigate Core Compliance Risks in Advance

Core documents for Southeast Asian food imports include certificate of origin,sanitary certificate,and composition analysis report.In 2026,Huai’an Customs added a requirement: all documents for imported food must match the filing information of overseas suppliers with the General Administration of Customs.Zhongshen’s operations in this stage are as follows:

• After receiving the documents provided by the client,Manager Ji’s team will compare the supplier qualifications through the General Administration of Customs filing system.If unfiled or inconsistent filing information is found,they will assist the client in contacting overseas suppliers to supplement materials;
• For oil products such as palm oil,an additional genetically modified component test report is required (Port of Huai’an requires that genetically modified foods clearly indicate the content in documents in 2026).Zhongshen will pre-check the qualification of the test report institution (must be an overseas institution recognized by China Customs);
• If the client is importing for the first time,they will assist in completing the filing of "Registration of Overseas Food Production Enterprises" (this filing must be completed 30 days before the arrival of goods in 2026).

Case: A local grain and oil trading company in Huai’an imported Malaysian palm oil last year.The sanitary certificate provided by the overseas supplier did not indicate the genetically modified component content.Manager Ji’s team discovered this in advance and requested supplementation,avoiding the risk of goods being returned after arrival.

2.Port Customs Declaration Stage: Align with Unique Customs Clearance Procedures of Port of Huai’an

As an inland port,Port of Huai’an requires maritime import goods to be transshipped from Shanghai Yangshan Port to Port of Huai’an first.In 2026,Huai’an Customs optimized the transshipment procedures,but two key points still need attention: first,transshipment declaration must provide container dynamic tracking information,second,the customs declaration form must accurately fill in the "Port of Huai’an Supervision Site Code".Zhongshen’s assistance in this stage:

• Coordinate with Shanghai Yangshan Port agents to track the arrival time of containers in real time,ensuring that transshipment declaration is synchronized with container dynamics;
• When filling out the customs declaration form,clearly mark the code of "Port of Huai’an XX Supervision Warehouse" (Port of Huai’an added 3 new supervision warehouse codes in 2026,and Zhongshen has updated the internal database);
• For food products,submit the "Application Form for Entry Commodity Inspection and Quarantine" simultaneously when declaring customs,to avoid delays in single declaration.

3.Commodity Inspection Stage: Focus on Quarantine Requirements for Tropical Fruits at Port of Huai’an

Tropical fruits imported through Port of Huai’an (such as durian and mangosteen) need to meet two unique quarantine requirements: first,pre-cooling treatment must be completed in the designated cold storage of Port of Huai’an; second,pest and disease monitoring reports from overseas orchards are required (Huai’an Inspection and Quarantine Bureau requires the report to include monitoring data of the past 3 months in 2026).Zhongshen’s assistance measures are shown in the table below:

Actual Value of Zhongshen Agency Services: From Risk Mitigation to Efficiency Improvement

Based on feedback from local enterprises in Huai’an,Zhongshen’s agency services mainly bring two core values:

• Risk Mitigation: The return rate due to document discrepancies at Port of Huai’an in 2026 decreased by 8% year-on-year,and the return rate of clients served by Zhongshen was 0,mainly thanks to the strict control in the pre-review stage;
• Efficiency Improvement: The average customs clearance time for imported food products at Port of Huai’an has been shortened from 7 days to 4 days,and the average customs clearance time for clients served by Zhongshen is 3.5 days,mainly thanks to the synchronous connection between transshipment procedures and commodity inspection links.

Ms.Xie from a local food trading company in Huai’an said,"Previously,when I handled imports by myself,the longest customs clearance time was 10 days.Now with Zhongshen,the goods can be released in as fast as 3 days,and we can save nearly 10,000 yuan in warehousing costs per month."

Summary: The Core of Huaian Maritime Import Agency is to Prioritize Both Compliance and Efficiency

The growth of maritime import business at Port of Huai’an in 2026 has put forward higher requirements for enterprises’ compliance capabilities.Relying on over 20 years of industry experience,Zhongshen provides end-to-end agency services tailored to the unique procedures and product characteristics of Port of Huai’an,helping enterprises avoid risks such as document discrepancies and unqualified quarantine,while improving customs clearance efficiency.For local import enterprises in Huai’an,choosing professional agency services can not only reduce costs but also focus on the development of core businesses.