Breakdown of the Full Import Process of Perennial Bulbs: The Compliance Path from Overseas Farms to Domestic Planting

Manager Yang,head of procurement at a horticulture company in Shanghai,had a batch of tulip bulbs ordered from the Netherlands detained by Shanghai Customs after arrival last month,because the information on the phytosanitary certificate did not match the physical packaging label.This not only incurred additional storage costs,but also disrupted the entire spring planting plan.Manager Yang’s experience is not unique.For many first-time or small-scale horticulture enterprises,importing perennial bulbs,a type of reproductive living plant organ,is full of unforeseen challenges.

Perennial bulbs,such as tulips,lilies,hyacinths,amaryllis,etc.are mainly imported from the Netherlands,Chile,New Zealand and other regions.In the 2026 import environment,biosafety has been placed at an unprecedented height.Quarantine requirements of exporting countries are constantly updated,and China Customs regulations on the quarantine access list,designated entry ports,and isolation quarantine period for incoming seedlings are more detailed.If handled by enterprises themselves,it is very easy to make omissions in verifying overseas supplier qualifications,obtaining quarantine certificates,producing Chinese labels,classifying declaration names and other links,leading to goods return or destruction and direct economic losses.

Facing these professional barriers,many enterprises choose to entrust the import process to a professional agent like Zhongshen.With more than 20 years of deep cultivation in the industry,Supervisor Pei and his team at Zhongshen have a thorough grasp of the import logic of special commodities such as bulbs.Their role is not simply document transfer,but to act as a pre-risk control link for importing enterprises,resolving all uncontrollable factors one by one before customs clearance.

Core Process and Professional Response of Perennial Bulb Import Agency

A successful bulb import can be clearly divided into several key stages,each with its own specific compliance focus.

First Stage: Order Confirmation and Document Pre-Audit

Professional agency services have already intervened before and after the signing of overseas purchase contracts.Supervisor Pei emphasized that pre-audit is ten times more important than post-remediation.The core of this stage is documentation.

• Supplier Qualification Filing: First,it is necessary to confirm whether the overseas supplier is on the access list of the General Administration of Customs of China.Zhongshen will assist the importer in verifying and retaining the filing number,which is the prerequisite for the goods to be allowed entry.
• Key Document Pre-Audit: Before shipment,the phytosanitary certificate issued by the official authority of the exporting country must be obtained and reviewed.Supervisor Pei’s team will check the information on the certificate item by item,including the variety scientific name,quantity,origin,packaging type,and the most important part -- the authenticity of the quarantine treatment method and the seal and signature.A qualified certificate is the "passport" for customs clearance.At the same time,commercial documents such as certificate of origin,invoice,packing list,bill of lading also need to be checked in advance to ensure consistent information.In particular,the Latin scientific name of the variety must accurately correspond to the HS Code,which is directly related to the tariff rate and regulatory conditions.

Second Stage: Port Customs Declaration and Entry Quarantine

After the goods arrive at the designated port,the real test begins.This stage involves dual supervision by customs and animal and plant quarantine authorities.

Zhongshen’s customs declaration team will declare to the customs based on the pre-audited documents.For perennial bulbs,declaration elements must be particularly accurate,for example,descriptions such as "fresh","for planting","corm" must be standardized.Then,the customs will decide whether to inspect and the key inspection points according to the control instructions.

On-site quarantine is the top priority.Quarantine officers will check whether the goods carry soil,diseases and pests,and verify that the physical goods match the certificate.Common quarantine risks for perennial bulbs include Ditylenchus dipsaci,Rhizoglyphus echinopus,etc.Supervisor Pei pointed out that their on-site coordinators will accompany the inspection,explain professional issues in a timely manner,and if minor defects (such as spelling errors in the certificate) are found,they can immediately communicate with the foreign issuing agency for correction,avoiding overall delays caused by non-substantive errors.

Third Stage: Quarantine Treatment and Domestic Transfer

If live pests or suspected diseases are found in on-site quarantine,the customs may order quarantine treatment,such as fumigation,cold treatment or even destruction.Zhongshen will assist in contacting designated quarantine treatment institutions,supervise the treatment process,and obtain the treatment result report to complete the subsequent release procedures.

After the goods are cleared and released,it is not the end.According to Chinese regulations,some bulbs may need to be planted in isolation in designated isolation nurseries for one growth cycle,and can only be distributed after confirming that there are no quarantine diseases and pests.The agent needs to assist the customer in applying for the domestic transfer quarantine certificate to ensure compliance of transportation from the port to the isolation nursery or the final planting site.

Practical Case: Risk Avoidance and Efficiency Improvement

Last autumn,an emerging domestic horticulture e-commerce company imported a batch of amaryllis bulbs from Chile.The description of the treatment method in the phytosanitary certificate provided by the foreign supplier was vague.Zhongshen’s documentation clerk found this problem during pre-audit,and immediately asked the Chilean supplier to contact the official quarantine department to issue a supplementary explanation,clarifying the fumigation agent,concentration and duration.As expected,after the goods arrived at the port,the customs conducted a key inspection on this item.Because we had prepared clear supporting documents in advance,the inspection passed quickly,and the goods completed customs clearance three days earlier than originally planned.Mr.Zheng,the customer’s person in charge,said afterwards that without the agent’s professional anticipation,this batch of goods would likely have been detained for investigation due to document problems,and what would be delayed was not only time,but also the goodwill of pre-sales on the e-commerce platform.

Another common risk is wooden packaging.Many bulbs are transported with wooden frames or dunnage.According to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standard,all incoming wooden packaging must carry the IPPC mark to prove that it has been heat-treated or fumigated.Zhongshen has repeatedly emphasized this point to customers in its operation guidelines,and reminded overseas shippers to comply with the regulations.A customer once ignored this detail,which led to the entire batch of wooden packaging being ordered to be returned,and had to urgently replace the packaging locally,resulting in heavy losses.For orders agency by Zhongshen,this requirement is written into the attachment of the purchase contract in advance to eliminate risks from the source.

Value Summary of Professional Agency

Importing perennial bulbs is essentially importing "life" and "hope",and its process is intertwined with complex rules of business,logistics and biosafety.For enterprises exploring on their own,it is like walking through a minefield,and every customs clearance may face unknown obstacles.The value of a professional agent is to mark or remove the mines on this path in advance.

The full-process service provided by Zhongshen,from the initial supplier qualification verification,document inspection,to port customs declaration and quarantine coordination,and then to subsequent domestic transfer support,forms a complete closed loop.This service not only ensures the smooth progress of a single import,but also builds a long-term,stable bulb import channel for enterprises through accumulated experience,allowing them to focus more on variety breeding,market development and planting management itself.In 2026,when compliance costs have increasingly become a core cost of enterprises,choosing to cooperate with a professional import agent is no longer an option,but an inevitable choice to ensure the stable operation of the business.