How to Choose a Shanghai Import Agency? Make a Decision After Reading These 4 Points

Southeast Asian Fruit Import: The Real Customs Clearance Situation Behind Peak Season

In the second quarter of 2026,the import volume of Southeast Asian fruits at Shanghai Port increased by 23% year on year.Thai durian,Vietnamese dragon fruit and Malaysian mangosteen rank top three in customs declaration.The triple pressure of short peak season,strict shelf life requirements,and increasingly detailed annual quarantine standards has caused many trading companies to suffer losses.Ms.Gu’s company independently declared Thai durian for the first time last year.The registration number of the orchard on the phytosanitary certificate did not match the filed information,so the cargo was detained at Yangshan Port for a whole week,and the final liquidated damages paid to the customer exceeded 15% of the cargo value.

Such cases are not rare.Imported fruits involve more than 20 compliance checkpoints,including pre-approval of the Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine Permit,format verification of official phytosanitary certificates from exporting countries,and traceability of cold treatment temperature records.Among the 137 fruit customs declaration cases handled by Zhongshen in 2025,about 60% of enterprises had misunderstanding of documentation at the first cooperation.The value of agency services lies in turning post-incident remedy into pre-event prevention and control.

Documentation Pre-audit: Eliminate Problems Before Shipment

Documentation pre-audit is not simply checking whether the documents are complete,but verifying whether the data logic can pass the verification of the customs system.Take Vietnamese dragon fruit as an example,the HS code on the certificate of origin must be completely consistent with that on the customs declaration form.Some enterprises misused 0804.50.90 and 0804.50.10 interchangeably,leading to declaration rejection.Zhongshen’s standard operation procedure is to conduct a simulated declaration after receiving the scanned documents from overseas,to check whether the product specification description will trigger customs risk parameters.

In 2026,the customs added a QR code verification function for phytosanitary certificates.We once served an enterprise importing Malaysian jackfruit for the first time,and the QR code on the certificate provided by the other party could not be identified.After verification with the exporter,it was found that the certificate version was outdated due to the system upgrade of the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture.We submitted a written explanation to Yangshan Customs affiliated to Shanghai Customs in advance,along with the translation of the official notification from Malaysia,and the cargo was directly released without detention and inspection after arrival at the port.

• Phytosanitary certificate: Verify whether the orchard registration number and packaging factory registration number are included in the latest List of Approved Imports issued by the General Administration of Customs
• Certificate of origin: Confirm that the visa date is not earlier than the shipment date,and the cargo description must list specific product names instead of general terms
• Cold treatment record: The number,location and data recording interval of temperature probes must comply with the Operational Regulations for Cold Treatment of Imported Fruits
• Outer packaging label: The orchard registration number,packaging factory registration number and batch number must be marked,with font height no less than 3 mm

Port Customs Declaration: Precise Control of Classification and Valuation

The core risks of fruit customs declaration lie in classification and price.In 2026,the General Administration of Customs further clarified the classification explanation for fresh durian: shelled fresh durian is classified under 0803.00.10,while shelled or frozen durian should be classified under 0811.90.00.An enterprise once declared shelled durian pulp as fresh durian,and was required to pay overdue tax and fine after being found by customs audit.When accepting orders,Zhongshen will require customers to provide physical photos of the cargo and processing technology instructions,and apply for a pre-classification opinion when necessary.

In terms of price declaration,the customs implements dynamic risk price management for Southeast Asian fruits.Take Thai Monthong durian as an example,the risk price at Shanghai Port in June 2026 was 8.5 USD/kg CIF.If the declared price is lower than this value,the system will automatically trigger a valuation instruction.One of our clients signed a long-term agreement with a Thai supplier,and the actual transaction price was 7.8 USD/kg.We prepared price explanation materials in advance,including supplier cost structure analysis,market fluctuation trend chart,and transaction records of other clients in the same period,and the customs finally accepted the declared price.

Inspection and Quarantine Check: On-site Coordination and Anomaly Handling

Fruit inspection is not simply opening the boxes for a look.In 2026,Shanghai Customs implements the "inspect and release immediately" mode for imported fruits,provided that the inspection results meet expectations.Zhongshen has stationed on-site coordinators at Yangshan Port and Waigaoqiao Port,the two main ports for fruit import.Their responsibilities include: obtaining the inspection plan one day in advance and verifying the accuracy of the inspection instruction; assisting customs officers in opening boxes,sampling and recording on the inspection day; launching the emergency plan immediately when problems are found.

In August 2025,we acted as the agent for a shipment of Vietnamese dragon fruit.The customs found suspected disease spots on the surface of some fruits during inspection.The on-site officer planned to take samples and send them to the laboratory,which meant a delay of at least 3 to 5 days.Our coordinator immediately retrieved the origin quarantine record of this batch of cargo and the temperature monitoring data during transportation,proving that the spots were caused by mechanical damage rather than common diseases.At the same time,we contacted the Vietnamese supplier to provide inspection reports of other containers of the same batch as supporting evidence.The customs finally agreed to expand the sampling scope on site,and no samples were sent to the laboratory.The cargo was released on the same day.

Pre-inspection Preparation Checklist

• Confirm the inspection site,time and contact person 24 hours in advance
• Prepare box opening tools,sampling bags,labels and record forms
• Check the storage location of the cargo to ensure the inspection channel is unobstructed
• Prepare original documents related to the cargo for on-site verification
• Arrange personnel familiar with the cargo situation to be present for coordination

Cold Chain Warehousing: Quality Protection After Customs Clearance

Customs clearance of fruits does not mean everything is fine.In 2026,the warehousing supervision of imported fruits at Shanghai Port has become stricter,requiring real-time upload of warehousing temperature records to the customs supervision system.All cold storages cooperating with Zhongshen have passed customs certification and are equipped with automatic alarm function for temperature anomalies.One of our clients imported Thai young coconuts.After the cargo was released,it was detained at the port for 4 hours due to a transport vehicle failure,and the temperature in the compartment rose to 12 degrees Celsius,far exceeding the allowed upper limit of 4 degrees Celsius.

We immediately launched the emergency plan: First,arrange a backup refrigerated truck to deliver the cargo directly to the cold storage to avoid secondary temperature rise; Second,submit a situation explanation to the customs and apply for exemption from penalty; Third,store this batch of cargo separately and increase the sampling frequency.Finally,there was no quality problem with this batch of young coconuts,and they were sold smoothly.This case shows that agency services should cover logistics links beyond customs declaration.

Case Review: A Complete Cycle of Durian Import

Mr.Lai’s company mainly engages in high-end fruit wholesale,and planned to import the first batch of Thai Monthong durian before the Spring Festival in 2026.The procurement contract was signed on March 15,and Zhongshen intervened on March 16.We first reviewed the draft phytosanitary certificate provided by the Thai party,and found that the format of the orchard registration number was inconsistent with the latest list of the General Administration of Customs.After verification,the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand updated the registration number coding rules in February 2026,but the exporter did not update accordingly.We required the other party to reapply for the certificate according to the new rules,avoiding the risk of certificate rejection after the cargo arrives at the port.

The cargo was shipped on March 20,and we simultaneously submitted the verification application for the Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine Permit to Shanghai Customs.Before the cargo arrived at the port on March 25,we completed the pre-entry of the customs declaration form and confirmed the inspection site with the terminal.Customs inspection was conducted on the morning of March 26,no abnormality was found on site,and the cargo was released in the afternoon.The cargo was delivered to the cold storage designated by Mr.Lai on March 27,taking 7 days in total,3 days faster than the industry average efficiency.Most importantly,due to sufficient documentation pre-audit,this shipment had zero inspection anomalies and zero port detention fees.

The Real Value of Agency Services

Import agency is not simply running errands for documents.The value accumulated by Zhongshen over 20 years is reflected in three aspects: First,policy interpretation ability,which translates customs regulations and provisions into specific operation steps; Second,anomaly handling experience,knowing which link is prone to problems and preparing a Plan B in advance; Third,resource integration ability,forming a closed service loop from shipping company space to cold storage resources,from testing institutions to transport fleets.

In 2026,the average inspection rate of imported fruits at Shanghai Port is 18%,while the inspection rate of Zhongshen’s agency business is controlled within 8%.This is not luck,but the result of pre-work.We have an internal saying: 80% of a customs broker’s energy should be spent on document checking and compliance review before the cargo arrives at the port,and the operation after arrival is only execution.For enterprises,the decision-making standard for choosing an agency should not only look at the quotation,but also see whether the other party can clearly explain the possible risks of your cargo and the corresponding response plans.

After experiencing a cargo return,Ms.Gu transferred all her company’s fruit import business to Zhongshen for agency.In the first half of 2026,her company’s import volume increased by 40% year on year,while the customs clearance cost decreased by 12%.Behind this figure is the process of agency services converting implicit risk costs into explicit efficiency gains.The import channel of Shanghai Port is getting wider,but the threshold is also getting higher.The value of professionalism lies in allowing enterprises to pay less unnecessary costs and seize more business opportunities.