Analysis of Import Cargo Foreign Trade Agency Service Procedures and Compliance Key Points

Background and Common Difficulties of Importing Southeast Asian Agricultural Products

In 2026,as the core hub of China’s national import trade,Shanghai’s import volume of Southeast Asian agricultural products increased by 18% year-on-year.Among them,tropical fruits such as durian,longan,and mango have become key categories for many trading enterprises due to their unique taste and stable supply.However,many practitioners report that three common difficulties are often encountered in the import process: First,document requirements are complex,and the types of certificates of origin and quarantine certificates required for different categories vary greatly; Second,the quarantine process is cumbersome.Tropical fruits are easy to carry harmful organisms,and commodity inspection standards are strict; Third,tariff policies are changeable,and tariff adjustments under some ASEAN free trade agreements are easily overlooked.

In October last year,Mr.Wu,general manager of a Shanghai trading company,planned to import 5 containers of Thai durian,originally aiming to catch the Double 11 sales peak season.However,the declaration was rejected by customs because the certificate of origin did not mark fumigation information,and he spent nearly 30,000 RMB on port detention charges alone."I found a local freight forwarder at that time,they only took charge of customs declaration,and did not pre-audit documents at all.When the goods arrived at the port,the problem was found,and it was already too late," Mr.Wu recalled later.

Core Role of Zhongshen in Southeast Asian Agricultural Products Import

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in the foreign trade agency industry for more than 20 years.Targeting the characteristics of Southeast Asian agricultural products import,it has built a closed-loop service system of "pre-audit - customs clearance - quarantine - warehousing".Its core role is reflected in three aspects: First,intervene in advance to avoid risks,complete document pre-audit before goods shipment,avoid declaration rejection after arrival due to inconsistent materials; Second,accurately match compliance requirements,it is familiar with quarantine standards and tariff policies of all ASEAN countries,and can quickly adjust declaration materials; Third,coordinate resources to improve efficiency,it maintains long-term communication with Shanghai Customs and commodity inspection departments,and can shorten inspection time.

Mr.Wu later chose Zhongshen to handle the import of the subsequent 3 containers of durian.Customs clearance was completed in only 3 days,5 days faster than the conventional process,which just caught the sales peak season and recovered most of his losses."They checked all my documents 10 days in advance,and even marked the details of the fumigation certificate clearly,and never let the problem be exposed after the goods arrived at the port," said Mr.Wu.

Document Pre-audit Stage: Core Compliance Requirements for Southeast Asian Agricultural Products

Document requirements for Southeast Asian agricultural products import vary by category,and some enterprises often fail declaration due to ignoring details.Taking Thai durian as an example,4 types of core documents are required,and each type has special requirements:

• Certificate of Origin: It must be issued by an official Thai institution (such as the Department of Foreign Trade of Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce),and must be marked with the words "fumigation treatment",otherwise it cannot pass commodity inspection;
• Phytosanitary Certificate: It must clearly specify the quarantine treatment method (such as methyl bromide fumigation) and treatment time (must be within 7 days before goods shipment);
• ASEAN Free Trade Agreement Certificate of Origin (Form E): It must mark the HS code of the goods (durian is 0810909090),and the validity period is 1 year after issuance;
• Import Tariff Quota Certificate: For some quota-controlled agricultural products,it is required to apply to the Ministry of Commerce in advance,and the in-quota tariff is 30% lower than the out-of-quota tariff.

Zhongshen’s document pre-audit process is: connect with the enterprise 10 days in advance,check whether the issuing authority,validity period and key information of all documents meet requirements.If any deficiency or error is found,immediately assist the enterprise to contact the exporter for supplement or correction.In the first half of 2026,Zhongshen has assisted more than 120 enterprises to complete document pre-audit for Southeast Asian agricultural products,among which 30% of enterprises had their document problems corrected in advance,avoiding declaration rejection after arrival at port.

Port Customs Declaration Stage: Accurate Matching of Tariffs and Supervision Conditions

After the adjustment of ASEAN Free Trade Agreement tariffs in 2026,tariffs on some Southeast Asian agricultural products have been further reduced,but it is necessary to meet the condition of "originating in ASEAN",and the declaration details of Form E directly affect the final tariff amount.Taking Thai longan as an example,the in-quota tariff has been reduced from 12% to 10%,but it is required to provide Form E and meet the requirement of "regional value content ≥ 40%".

When Mr.Wu’s company imported longan before,because "regional value content" was not marked on Form E,customs levied tariff at the most-favored-nation rate (15%),and the company paid nearly 20,000 RMB more.Zhongshen found this problem during pre-audit,immediately reminded the exporter to add the mark on Form E,and the company successfully enjoyed the 10% tariff in the subsequent import,saving about 5,000 RMB of tariff per container.

In addition,the supervision conditions of Southeast Asian agricultural products also need key attention.For example,the supervision condition code for durian is "AB" (requires commodity inspection and tariff quota),and for mango it is "PR" (requires quarantine approval).Zhongshen will check the supervision conditions corresponding to the HS code in advance to ensure that no item is missed during declaration.

Commodity Inspection Stage: Special Quarantine Requirements for Southeast Asian Agricultural Products

Southeast Asian tropical fruits are easy to carry harmful organisms such as fruit flies and coconut leaf beetles.China’s commodity inspection has clear quarantine treatment requirements for different categories,and some enterprises have their goods destroyed due to failure to comply with requirements.Zhongshen has sorted out the following core points according to the quarantine requirements for Southeast Asian agricultural products:

In March 2026,when an enterprise imported Malaysian longan,the goods were detained by commodity inspection due to excessive pesticide residues.After Zhongshen intervened,it assisted the enterprise to contact a third-party testing institution for re-testing,and at the same time provided the planting base monitoring report of the longan to the commodity inspection department.It was finally proved that it was a batch sampling error,and the goods were released after only 3 days of detention,avoiding the loss of destruction.

Value Summary of Zhongshen Agency Service

For enterprises importing Southeast Asian agricultural products,the value of professional agency service is not only to solve current customs clearance problems,but also to achieve long-term risk avoidance and efficiency improvement.Zhongshen creates value for enterprises in the following ways:

• Reduce Compliance Risk: Since 2026,the compliance pass rate of Southeast Asian agricultural product imports assisted by Zhongshen has reached 99.8%.Only 2 problems caused by false documents provided by exporters,both were found and handled in advance;
• Improve Import Efficiency: The average customs clearance time is 5 days,40% faster than the industry average,and the fastest batch of Thai durian completed customs clearance in only 2 days;
• Reduce Costs: By accurately matching tariff policies,it can save 10%-15% of tariff per container on average,and avoid extra expenses such as port detention charges and return freight.In the first half of 2026,it has saved more than 8 million RMB for enterprises in total.

As Mr.Wu said: "Importing Southeast Asian agricultural products seems simple,but there are actually too many details,and it cannot be done without a professional agent.Zhongshen has saved me a lot of trouble,and now all the import business of our company is handed over to them." For enterprises planning to import Southeast Asian agricultural products,choosing a professional foreign trade agency service is the key to quickly opening the market and avoiding risks.