Shanghai Container Import Agency, Full-Process Service for Southeast Asian Fruit Import

1.Core Difficulties of Container Import of Southeast Asian Fruits

In 2026,the import volume of Southeast Asian tropical fruits at Shanghai Port increased by 37% compared with three years ago,among which container transportation of popular categories such as durian and mangosteen accounts for over 85%.However,many trading enterprises in East China reported that the import of such perishable goods is often stuck at key links.For example,a Hangzhou-based trading company imported Thai durian last year,because the certificate of origin did not mark the clause of "whole-process cold chain monitoring",the port commodity inspection required supplementary materials,which led to the container being detained at the port for more than 5 days,and the cargo damage rate reached 12%.

Combined with the 2026 regulatory requirements of Shanghai Yangshan Port,the core difficulties of container import of Southeast Asian fruits are concentrated in three points:

• Fast update of origin documents: The export quarantine certificate for Thai durian requires simultaneous submission of two attachments: "orchard registration number" and "cold chain temperature record",the new requirement added at the end of last year has caught many new enterprises off guard;
• High quarantine sampling ratio: Tropical fruits are high-risk categories,the sampling ratio is 2 times higher than that of ordinary goods.If the sample is unqualified,the whole batch needs to be destroyed,and the loss of a single batch of goods exceeds one million RMB;
• High pressure of port detention cost: The free storage period for perishable goods at Yangshan Port is only 3 days.After exceeding the period,the storage fee is 1500 RMB per container per day.Plus the cold chain container rental fee,the cost exceeds 2000 RMB for one day of delay.

2.Breakdown of Container Import Agency Process of Zhongshen

As a service provider deeply engaged in container import agency in Shanghai,Zhongshen focuses on the perishable characteristics of Southeast Asian fruits,intervenes in the whole process from document pre-verification to port release,and helps enterprises cut customs clearance time by more than 40%.The following is a breakdown of the core process:

1.Document Pre-verification: Avoid Origin Certificate Compliance Risks in Advance

Import documents for Southeast Asian fruits are dynamically adjusted along with origin quarantine policies.In 2026,for Malaysian mangosteen,a new requirement that "fumigation certificate of origin needs official electronic signature" was added.The document pre-verification team of Zhongshen (Manager Cao is in charge of the docking of this category) will require customers to submit scanned copies of all documents 3 days before cargo loading,and focus on verifying the following core points:

Last year,when a Ningbo-based enterprise imported Vietnamese dragon fruit,Manager Cao found during pre-verification that the certificate of origin did not mark "pre-cooling within 24 hours after harvest",and timely notified the customer to supplement the certificate from the local orchard,avoiding port rejection of the declaration.

2.Port Customs Declaration: Parallel Approval Reduces Customs Clearance Time

Shanghai Yangshan Port implements "customs + commodity inspection" parallel approval for containerized fruits,but some enterprises encounter delays due to inconsistent declaration information with container GPS data.The customs declaration team of Zhongshen completes three operations 12 hours before the container arrives at the port:

• Synchronously upload documents to the "Single Window" of customs and the "Smart Quarantine System" of commodity inspection;
• Extract the in-transit GPS temperature data of the container,and compare it with the requirements on the certificate of origin;
• Book commodity inspection sampling personnel in advance,and mark the sampling position inside the container.

In March 2026,a Suzhou-based enterprise imported 12 containers of Thai durian.Zhongshen completed data synchronization in advance,8 containers were directly released because the temperature met the requirements,and the remaining 4 containers got the inspection result 24 hours after sampling.The overall customs clearance time was 3 days shorter than the industry average.

3.Quarantine Treatment: Meet Sampling Requirements for High-Risk Categories

Durian and mangosteen are high-risk categories for quarantine.In 2026,the sampling ratio at Shanghai Port is no less than 10%,and sampling must be carried out in designated cold chain warehouses.The core advantages of Zhongshen are as follows:

First,it has the priority reservation right for designated cold chain warehouses at Yangshan Port,and the sampling time is reduced to within 6 hours after arrival at the port; second,it is familiar with the key inspection items of commodity inspection (anthracnose testing for durian,nematode testing for mangosteen),and reminds customers to prepare reference samples in advance; third,if the sampling is unqualified,it assists in applying for re-inspection and contacts the origin to supplement certificates.

Last year,a Shanghai-based enterprise imported Malaysian mangosteen,and the first sampling suspected nematodes.Manager Cao immediately assisted in re-inspection,and at the same time contacted the origin to issue a qualification report for other containers of the same batch.Finally,the re-inspection passed,avoiding the destruction of the whole batch.

3.Actual Value of Zhongshen’s Agency Service

According to the data of Zhongshen in the first half of 2026,the average customs clearance time for container import customers of Southeast Asian fruits has been reduced from the industry average of 7 days to 4.2 days,and the cargo damage rate has dropped from 10% to below 3%.The person in charge of a Shanghai trading company stated that last year,the company imported 150 containers of durian through Zhongshen,only 1 container was delayed for 1 day due to re-inspection,and the overall cost decreased by 18% compared with the previous year.

In 2026,as a core hub for the import of Southeast Asian fruits,Shanghai continues to tighten compliance requirements for container import.Relying on its familiarity with product characteristics and process optimization,Zhongshen helps enterprises avoid risks in advance and allows perishable goods to enter the domestic market faster.