2026 Complete Process Analysis and Key Node Control Guide for PET Plastic Pellets Import Agency

PET Plastic Pellets Import: 2026 Market Pattern and Operational Difficulties

In 2026,the demand for PET raw materials in China’s food and beverage packaging and high-end textile industries maintains an average annual growth rate of 8%.The main source markets are Thailand and Malaysia in Southeast Asia,Saudi Arabia in the Middle East,and South Korea in Northeast Asia.These regions have significant production capacity advantages,but import enterprises generally face three major practical obstacles: commodity classification disputes,inconsistent commodity inspection sampling standards,and anti-dumping duty retrospective risks.Especially for PET chips imported from Thailand,customs often question the classification accuracy due to fluctuations in polymerization degree indicators,resulting in a port detention period of more than 15 days for a single shipment.More complicatedly,starting from 2026,the General Administration of Customs of China has added a new acetaldehyde residue detection item for food-contact grade PET.If enterprises do not stipulate the testing clause in the contract,they may face additional costs and delays caused by supplementary testing.

Zhongshen’s Position in the PET Import Chain

Over the past two decades,Zhongshen has handled more than 2,000 shipments of PET plastic pellets import business,and is familiar with operational differences of major ports such as Shanghai,Ningbo,and Guangzhou.Our value lies not in simple customs declaration submission,but in moving risk control nodes forward: we intervene in document review before supplier shipment,complete commodity pre-classification communication before cargo arrival,and accompany customs sampling and explain process indicators during the inspection link.This deeply embedded model reduces the average customs clearance time of customers from the industry average of 9.2 days to 4.5 days.Specifically for the PET category,we have established a technical parameter database covering 12 major suppliers,which contains historical commodity inspection data of 18 indicators including melting point,MFR,and chromaticity,which has become a key basis for persuading customs to reduce the sampling ratio.

Document Pre-audit Stage: Avoid 80% of Subsequent Risks

Document problems account for more than 70% of the reasons for PET import declaration rejection.Zhongshen’s pre-audit checklist covers 12 core documents,with focus on checking three hidden risk points.

• Certificate of Origin Format: Form A issued by Saudi Arabian authorities must show a detailed description of the polymerization process,otherwise the agreement tariff cannot be enjoyed.In February 2026,a shipment of Saudi PET was refused tariff preference by customs because the certificate of origin did not indicate "continuous polycondensation process".We urgently contacted the supplier to reissue the certificate,resulting in a 3-day delay in shipment.
• Quality Inspection Report Indicators: The melt flow rate (MFR) data provided by Thai suppliers must not deviate by more than 5% from the historical data of the brand filed with customs.More critically,the acetaldehyde residue indicator newly required in 2026 must be listed separately in the quality inspection report,instead of being included under "other volatiles".
• Packaging Declaration: If Korean-made PET pellets use wooden pallets,IPPC fumigation marking photos must be provided,otherwise the entire container will face return shipment.Once a shipment of Korean PET had unclear wooden pallet marking,and customs required fumigation of the entire container.We avoided this additional cost by providing the supplier’s workshop fumigation video and batch records.

In the fourth quarter of 2025,a textile enterprise in Jiangsu imported 38 tons of Korean PET chips.Because the quality inspection report did not mark acetaldehyde residue,customs required supplementary testing,resulting in port detention costs of more than 30,000 RMB.After accepting the order,Zhongshen found that this batch of goods had not been pre-inspected before departure,urgently contacted the Korean supplier to obtain production line retention sample data,completed the submission of supplementary documents before arrival,and finally the goods were released the next day after arrival.

Port Customs Declaration Link: Game of Commodity Classification and Price Declaration

The commodity codes of PET plastic pellets are concentrated in the range of 3907.61 to 3907.69,with differences in polymerization degree and additive composition.Zhongshen’s operating principle is: obtain the supplier’s process flow chart before declaration,and confirm whether titanium dioxide or other modifiers are added.Once a shipment of PET imported from Malaysia,the supplier generally wrote "PET resin" on the invoice,but it actually contained 0.3% talcum powder,which should be classified under 3907.69 instead of 3907.61,with a tax rate difference of 2 percentage points.We checked the technical parameter sheet in advance and took the initiative to explain it during the declaration link,avoiding the subsequent tax supplementary risk.

In terms of price declaration,customs’ focus on PET import lies in transfer pricing.Especially for enterprises purchasing from related companies in Southeast Asia,they need to prepare contemporaneous non-related transaction price evidence.Zhongshen assists customers to establish a price database,collects spot PET prices in the Far East released by platforms such as ICIS,as support for the rationality of the declared price.In March 2026,Shanghai Customs initiated a price inquiry on PET imported by an enterprise from a related company in Thailand,believing that the price was 18% lower than the market price.We submitted on the spot the price records of similar products purchased by the customer from non-related Saudi suppliers in the past six months,the screenshot of ICIS price curve,and the cost composition explanation of the Thai supplier.Finally,customs accepted the original declared price,avoiding 120,000 RMB of supplementary tax.

Commodity Inspection: Sampling Standards and Laboratory Cycle

The focus of PET plastic pellet commodity inspection lies in environmental protection items and basic performance.The sampling ratio varies greatly among different ports: Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port samples 10% of PET imported for the first time,and can reduce it to 5% for suppliers with stable long-term imports; while Ningbo Port strictly implements an 8% sampling rate,and must inspect three indicators: melt flow rate,carboxyl end group content,and chromaticity b value.The newly added acetaldehyde residue detection for food-contact grade PET in 2026 has a laboratory cycle 2-3 working days longer than ordinary indicators.

Zhongshen’s response strategy is: before the cargo arrives at the port,submit the commodity inspection qualification records of the supplier in the past six months to the customs,and apply for a reduction in the sampling ratio.At the same time,we maintain technical communication with the Shanghai Customs Industrial Product Testing Center to understand the laboratory schedule.In January 2026,a shipment of 500 tons of PET pellets imported from Saudi Arabia arrived at the port during the Spring Festival due to shipment delay,and the laboratory schedule was as long as 15 working days.Through advance declaration and appointment for inspection,we completed sampling before Chinese New Year’s Eve,obtained the test report on the first working day after the holiday,and saved customers a full week of storage fees.

Special Supervision Requirements: Anti-dumping Duties and Safeguard Measures

In 2026,the 9.2% anti-dumping duty still applies to PET chips originating in South Korea,while the measure for products from Thailand and Malaysia has expired.However,customs is extremely strict in the audit of certificates of origin,requiring detailed transportation routes and raw material sources to be displayed.When accepting an order,Zhongshen will require Korean suppliers to provide purchase invoices for raw material terephthalic acid to prove that they do not use Chinese-made PTA for processing to avoid duties.Once a shipment of Korean PET,because the supplier used 10% Chinese-made PTA raw material,it was identified as a circumvention by customs and required to pay supplementary tax at the most-favored-nation tax rate.We discovered this risk when reviewing the raw material ratio document before shipment,and suggested that the customer replace the supplier or adjust the procurement plan,avoiding subsequent losses.

In addition,starting from 2026,the General Administration of Customs of China implements separate commodity code supervision for recycled PET (r-PET),requiring GRS certification certificate and recycled component proportion description to be provided during declaration.Zhongshen assisted customers to complete the first r-PET import at the end of 2025,and is familiar with the special declaration requirements of this category.For enterprises planning to import r-PET,we recommend pre-communicating with the customs on the validity of the GRS certificate before signing the contract,to avoid return shipment caused by the certificate not meeting the interpretation standards of Chinese customs.

Case Review: Complete Process of Thai PET Pellet Import

In February 2026,a packaging enterprise in Zhejiang entrusted Zhongshen to act as an agent for importing 120 tons of Thai PET chips,with a value of about 140,000 US dollars.Ms.Peng was responsible for document and customs clearance coordination of this project.

Before shipment,Ms.Peng found during review that the quality inspection report provided by the supplier did not mark the heavy metal content,and in 2026,customs increased the spot check ratio of lead and antimony content for food-contact grade PET to 20%.We required the supplier to supplement the test report,and suggested the customer add a quality clause in the contract,stipulating that the supplier shall bear the return shipment loss caused by unqualified inspection.This clause helped the customer avoid a potential loss of 23,000 RMB later.

The cargo arrived at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port on February 15.During declaration,Ms.Peng submitted the pre-classification decision,confirming the commodity code is 3907.61.Customs raised a price inquiry during document review,believing that the price was 15% lower than the market price of the same period.Ms.Peng submitted three supporting documents on the spot: first,the price records of similar products purchased by the customer from the same supplier in the past three months; second,the screenshot of CFR China main port price of PET in the Far East in February 2026 released by ICIS; third,the cost composition explanation issued by the supplier,explaining that the cost was reduced due to the use of self-owned PTA raw materials.Customs accepted the explanation and released the cargo the next day.

In the commodity inspection link,Ms.Peng submitted five qualified commodity inspection reports of the supplier in the past year in advance,and applied to reduce the sampling ratio from 10% to 5%.Customs approved,and actually sampled 6 tons for inspection.The laboratory test took 3 working days,and all indicators were qualified.The entire shipment from arrival to pick-up took a total of 4 days,and the port fees paid by the customer were 38% lower than the industry average.

Zhongshen’s Service Scope and Value

Zhongshen’s PET import agency service covers the entire chain from supplier qualification review to final cargo pick-up.Our core capabilities are reflected in three levels: first,in-depth understanding of customs technical standards,able to predict the risks of commodity classification and price inquiry; second,accurate control of laboratory testing cycle,saving time for customers through appointment and expedited channels; third,real-time tracking of special supervision policies,including changes in anti-dumping duties,upgrade of environmental standards,etc.

In the 2026 PET import market,compliance costs have accounted for 3%-5% of the cargo value.Through advance risk control and process optimization,Zhongshen controls customers’ compliance costs within 2%,while reducing the average customs clearance time by more than 50%.This value cannot be measured by simple customs declaration agency fees,but is reflected in actual business indicators such as avoiding port detention losses,accelerating capital turnover,and avoiding tax supplementary risks.For enterprises with an annual import volume of more than 1,000 tons,this efficiency improvement means that they can save hundreds of thousands of RMB in comprehensive costs every year.