2026 Chongqing Multimodal Transport Import Agency: Key Points of Full-Process Compliance Operation

Background and Pain Points of Importing Southeast Asian Agricultural Products via Chongqing Multimodal Transport

In 2026,relying on the Western New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor,Chongqing’s rail-sea combined transport and road-rail combined transport routes have covered 12 Southeast Asian countries.Among them,the import volume of tropical fruits such as durian and mangosteen increased by 22% compared with 2025.Many local traders in Chongqing reported that the import of such agricultural products involves multi-link connection,and it is easy to encounter problems due to oversight of details.

Common Import Difficulties

• Most Southeast Asian agricultural products are transported via the rail-sea combined transport route of "Ho Chi Minh Port,Vietnam → Qinzhou Port,Guangxi → Chongqing Railway Port",and inconsistencies in cargo description and quantity are prone to occur during bill of lading conversion
• Tropical fruits must comply with the Measures for the Administration of Quarantine of Imported Fruits,but some traders are not familiar with the specific format requirements of the origin quarantine certificate
• The connection between commodity inspection at Chongqing Port and the storage of the railway port is not smooth,and there have been cases where goods deteriorated due to no inspection within 2 days after arrival at the port
• In the foreign exchange receipt and payment link,some Southeast Asian suppliers require advance payment,but traders are worried that they cannot settle foreign exchange due to inconsistent documents

Core Value of Zhongshen in Multimodal Transport Import

Given the characteristics of Chongqing’s multimodal transport,Zhongshen’s import agency services cover the whole chain from supply source docking to domestic distribution,focusing on solving the two major problems of "multi-link connection gap" and "compliance risk control".Last year,Mr.Wei’s trading company planned to import 12 containers of Thai Monthong durian.Because it was not familiar with the bill of lading conversion rules of rail-sea combined transport,it almost faced return due to inconsistent documents,and finally cleared customs smoothly with the assistance of Zhongshen.

Full Process Breakdown and Compliance Control of Multimodal Transport Import

Stage 1: Document Pre-review (Pre-shipment Preparation)

Document pre-review for the import of Southeast Asian agricultural products is the core pre-link,which needs to meet the requirements of shipping,railway and quarantine departments at the same time.

Special Compliance Requirements:

• The origin shall provide the Phytosanitary Certificate certified by the local Chinese embassy
• For rail-sea combined transport,the connection sheet for conversion of "sea bill of lading + railway waybill" shall be provided to clarify the customs transit supervision information of Qinzhou Port
• The invoice and packing list shall indicate the durian variety (Monthong/Kanyao),specific producing area (such as Chonburi Province,Thailand),and refrigeration temperature (0-4℃)

Zhongshen’s assistance method: Mr.Wei’s company was once requested to supplement materials by Qinzhou Port Customs because the Phytosanitary Certificate did not indicate the specific producing area.The document department of Zhongshen found the problem during pre-review 3 days in advance,and assisted the Thai supplier to supplement the certification to avoid cargo detention at the port.In addition,Zhongshen will confirm the customs transit information with the customs broker of Chongqing Railway Port in advance to ensure that the cargo description and quantity of the two bills of lading are completely consistent.

Stage 2: Port Customs Declaration (Customs Transit at Qinzhou Port + Declaration at Chongqing Port)

Most of Chongqing’s multimodal transport goods are transferred from sea to railway at Qinzhou Port,and then transported to Chongqing Railway Port for customs declaration.Customs transit connection is the key.

Special Compliance Requirements:

• For customs transit at Qinzhou Port,the Declaration Form for Customs Transit of Inward Goods shall be provided,which corresponds to the "vehicle number and container number" of the railway waybill one by one
• For customs declaration at Chongqing Port,12 types of documents shall be submitted simultaneously,including customs transit declaration form,quarantine certificate,commercial invoice,etc.none of which can be missing
• Tropical fruits are "statutory inspection commodities",and pre-inspection and quarantine declaration shall be completed before customs declaration

Zhongshen’s assistance method: Zhongshen has resident staff at Qinzhou Port,who can track the arrival of goods in real time and complete the filling of the customs transit declaration form in advance.Last year,Mr.Lei’s company imported Vietnamese pitayas.Due to the change of railway vehicle number,the resident staff completed the update of customs transit information within 1 hour to avoid cargo detention at Qinzhou Port.In addition,Zhongshen has established a "green channel" with the commodity inspection department of Chongqing Railway Port,and the pre-inspection and quarantine declaration can be reviewed within 2 hours.

Stage 3: Commodity Inspection and Storage Connection (Chongqing Railway Port)

The connection between commodity inspection and storage at Chongqing Railway Port directly affects the freshness of goods,and the inspection time limit for tropical fruits is extremely high.

Special Quarantine Requirements:

• Durian needs to be tested for pests and diseases (such as fruit fly and anthracnose),with a sampling ratio of 5%
• Refrigerated containers shall provide full-process temperature monitoring records,which are stable at 0-4℃
• If pests and diseases are found during testing,fumigation treatment shall be carried out according to regulations,which takes about 24 hours

Zhongshen’s assistance method: Zhongshen cooperates with 3 designated storage enterprises in Chongqing Railway Port,which can arrange refrigerated storage space in advance to ensure that the goods are put into storage within 1 hour after arrival at the port.Once a batch of durian was sampled and found to have suspected fruit flies,Zhongshen immediately coordinated the fumigation enterprise to enter the site and handled the Fumigation Treatment Certificate at the same time.Finally,the customs clearance was only delayed for 1 day,and no deterioration of the goods was caused.

Actual Case: Durian Import Experience of Mr.Wei’s Company

In March 2026,Mr.Wei’s trading company planned to import 12 containers of Thai Monthong durian,which was transported via the rail-sea combined transport route of "Bangkok Port,Thailand → Qinzhou Port,Guangxi → Chongqing Railway Port".There were two problems in the early stage:

• The Phytosanitary Certificate provided by the Thai supplier only indicated "Thailand origin" and did not specify the specific province
• The sea bill of lading marked "12 containers" for "quantity",while the railway waybill marked "12×20GP",with inconsistent information

Zhongshen’s solution:

• Assist the supplier to contact the Thai agricultural department to supplement the producing area certificate of "Chonburi Province" and complete the certification of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand,which took 2 days
• Coordinate the customs broker of Qinzhou Port to modify the railway waybill information to be consistent with the sea bill of lading,and update the customs transit declaration form simultaneously
• Communicate with the commodity inspection department of Chongqing Railway Port in advance to reduce the pre-inspection and quarantine declaration time from 4 hours to 2 hours

Finally,this batch of durian only took 36 hours from arrival at the port to customs clearance,which was 4 days shorter than expected.The freshness remained above 95%,and no loss occurred.

Common Risks and Avoidance Measures for Multimodal Transport Import

Summary: Value of Zhongshen’s Agency Services

In 2026,the volume of imported goods via Chongqing multimodal transport continues to grow,but the complexity of multi-link connection makes many enterprises face compliance risks and efficiency losses.Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in foreign trade agency for more than 20 years.In view of the characteristics of rail-sea combined transport at Chongqing Port,through the mode of "pre-shipment document review + on-site connection + emergency treatment",it helps enterprises shorten the customs clearance time by more than 30% and reduce compliance risks by 40%.Mr.Wei said that through Zhongshen’s agency services,his company has successfully imported 28 containers of Southeast Asian fruits this year,without any return or deterioration.