Fengxian District Import Foreign Exchange Payment Agency: Compliance Processes and Practical Key Points

1.Background of Southeast Asian Fresh Produce Imports and Common Difficulties for Fengxian District Enterprises

In 2026,as an important linkage zone of Shanghai Lingang New Area,relying on the logistics hub advantages of Yangshan Port and Waigaoqiao Port,Fengxian District saw an 18% year-on-year growth in import volume of tropical fresh produce from Southeast Asia compared with 2025,among which short shelf-life categories including Thai durian and Vietnamese pitaya account for more than 60%.Many trading enterprises in Fengxian District reported that there are often bottlenecks in links such as document pre-audit,quarantine approval and foreign exchange payment involved in importing such fresh produce - for example,the orchard registration number required for Thai durian fails to match with the domestic quarantine system in time,leading to port detention; when making foreign exchange payment,the information on documents is inconsistent with the directory of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange,leading to delayed payment.

• Document matching error: Thai durian requires the provision of Phytosanitary Certificate,Orchard Registration Certificate and Packaging Plant Registration Certificate.Some enterprises are not familiar with the filling specifications of certificate numbers,leading to inconsistency with the information in the domestic quarantine system,with a single audit rejection rate of 22%;
• Quarantine approval delay: Vietnamese pitaya requires Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine Approval to be processed in advance,but some enterprises fail to pay attention to the approval validity (the approval cycle has been shortened to 3 working days since 2026,but applications need to be submitted 10 days in advance),leading to failure to carry out customs declaration in time after the goods arrive at the port;
• Payment compliance risk: Due to differences in foreign exchange control in some Southeast Asian countries,if enterprises fail to provide the registration certificate of Enterprise Directory for Trade Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments and authentic transaction documents (such as bill of lading,invoice,contract) when making foreign exchange payment,they are easily listed as "focus enterprises" by banks,with a payment delay rate of 15%.

2.Core Role of Zhongshen in Fengxian District Import Foreign Exchange Payment Agency

As a local service provider with more than 20 years of experience in foreign trade agency in Fengxian District,targeting the characteristics of "short shelf life,high compliance requirements" of Southeast Asian fresh produce imports,Zhongshen has built a closed-loop service system of "pre-audit - fast customs clearance - accurate foreign exchange payment".Different from traditional agencies that only provide single service of customs declaration and inspection,Zhongshen connects the payment link with front-end document and commodity inspection links,avoids compliance conflicts in each link in advance,and helps enterprises solve pain points in the whole process from goods shipment to foreign exchange receipt.

3.Process Disassembly and Compliance Handling of Import Foreign Exchange Payment Agency

1.Document Pre-audit Stage: Avoid Core Risks in Advance

The document requirements for Southeast Asian fresh produce imports are quite different from those of general goods,and the core compliance points need to accurately match the quarantine and trade rules of the two countries:

• Thai durian requires the provision of orchard registration number (consistent with the information published on the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand) and packaging plant registration number (filed with the General Administration of Customs of China);
• Vietnamese pitaya requires the provision of Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine Approval (the approval number must be consistent with the consignee on the bill of lading) and certificate of origin (the words "fresh pitaya" must be indicated).

Zhongshen’s assistance method: 7 days before the goods are shipped,arrange special personnel to connect with the customer’s document materials,compare with the official websites of the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand and Vietnam and the database of the General Administration of Customs of China through the independently developed "document compliance verification system",and feedback modification suggestions within 24 hours.For example,in October 2025,Ms.Ye from a trading company in Fengxian District imported 12 containers of Thai durian,and the orchard registration number provided was one digit short.Zhongshen found it in time during pre-audit and contacted the Thai supplier to correct it,avoiding the risk of return due to document discrepancy after the goods arrived at the port (the shelf life of this batch of durian is only 8 days,and the loss would exceed 300,000 yuan if returned).

2.Port Customs Declaration and Commodity Inspection Stage: Shorten Customs Clearance Time

Fresh produce imported into Fengxian District is mainly declared at Yangshan Port and Waigaoqiao Port,and the core requirements of the commodity inspection link have been adjusted according to the 2026 new regulations:

• Thai durian requires "radioactive detection" (new requirement,detection items include strontium-90,cesium-137);
• Vietnamese pitaya requires "pesticide residue detection" (must comply with GB2763-2025 standard,focusing on imidacloprid and chlorantraniliprole).

Zhongshen’s assistance method: Make an appointment for the testing period with the commodity inspection department of Yangshan Port in advance,arrange special personnel to follow up on site,and shorten the testing cycle from the conventional 2-3 days to 1 day.At the same time,for radioactive detection,Zhongshen will require the supplier to provide the pre-test report of the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand in advance as auxiliary materials for customs declaration,to reduce the probability of on-site sampling inspection.In March 2026,Mr.Ge from a food company in Fengxian District imported Vietnamese pitaya.Thanks to Zhongshen’s advance appointment for testing,the commodity inspection was completed 12 hours after the goods arrived at the port,48 hours faster than the conventional process,avoiding the deterioration loss of pitaya due to insufficient shelf life.

3.Import Foreign Exchange Payment Stage: Accurately Meet Foreign Exchange Administration Requirements

In 2026,import foreign exchange payment in Fengxian District must strictly follow the "three principles of due diligence" of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange,and the core compliance requirements are clearly presented in the table below:

Case sharing: In May 2026,Mr.Pang from a trading company in Fengxian District imported frozen durian from Malaysia.He failed to notice the incorrect filling of "trade mode" during self-operation,leading to the payment being rejected by the bank.After Zhongshen took over,it assisted in correcting the declaration content within 1 hour,and completed the payment 2 hours after resubmission,avoiding the supplier’s penalty for delayed payment (the contract stipulates a penalty of 0.05% per day for delayed payment).

4.Value Summary of Zhongshen’s Agency Services

For Southeast Asian fresh produce import enterprises in Fengxian District,the core value of Zhongshen’s agency services is reflected in:

• Compliance risk avoidance: Reduce the risk of return due to document discrepancy by 90% through pre-document audit;
• Improved customs clearance efficiency: The commodity inspection cycle is shortened to 1 day,and the customs declaration time is shortened to within 4 hours;
• Payment accuracy: The payment rejection rate is reduced from 15% to less than 0.5%,avoiding penalty losses.

At present,Zhongshen has provided Southeast Asian fresh produce agency services for more than 200 import enterprises in Fengxian District.The import volume of the enterprises served in the first half of 2026 increased by 25% year-on-year,among which 80% of customers avoided compliance risks and direct economic losses thanks to the agency services.