--- title: "Is it Necessary to Hire a Professional Agent for Fruit Export? In Which Scenarios Is the Demand Particularly Urgent?" description: "Small and medium-sized fruit farmers who conduct fruit export for the first time often know nothing about compliance procedures，risk prevention and control，and tax settlement，thus falling into multiple dilemmas such as container detention by customs，fresh produce spoilage，capital loss，and export tax refund failure. Choosing a professional foreign trade agent can avoid core risks，reduce overall costs，and ensure the smooth and compliant implementation of the first order through measures such as ad..." url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html" language: "en" type: "Q&A" category: "Export Agency Q&A" datePublished: "2026-06-04" dateModified: "2026-06-04" brand: "Zhongshen Trading China" answerCount: 10 --- # Is it Necessary to Hire a Professional Agent for Fruit Export? In Which Scenarios Is the Demand Particularly Urgent? ## Question I am a farmer running a Shine-Muscat Grape farm in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. I just got my first export order of 3 containers from a fresh produce chain in Singapore this year. I originally thought handling the procedures by myself could save some cost. But when I consulted the local customs last week, I found that there are a lot of procedures for fruit export, including Exit Phytosanitary Certificate, Certificate of Origin FORM E, and cold chain transportation filing. Besides, I have no idea about the access standards and details required by the importing country. I stayed up late checking information and got more anxious. I am afraid that any wrong step will lead to container detention, all grapes will rot in the port and I will lose all my investment. What's more, I know nothing about cross-border foreign exchange settlement and export tax refund. I just want to ask, for a small and medium-sized farmer like me who does fruit export for the first time, is it really necessary to hire a professional agent? Will it actually increase cost? ## Answers ### Answer 1 — Best Answer First of all，we need to point out a common misconception in the industry: many small and medium-sized fruit farmers believe that self-handling fruit export can save cost，but they actually ignore the special compliance requirements for fruit as a fresh produce category，which is the core source of risks. If you operate on your own rashly，it may trigger a chain of negative consequences: for example，if the quarantine items on your Exit Phytosanitary Certificate do not match Singapore's pesticide residue limit standard，it will directly lead to container detention. The cold chain shelf life of Shine-Muscat Grapes is only 7-10 days. Detention for more than 3 days will cause softening and berry dropping. If the container is finally detained by customs，you will not only bear a cargo value loss of nearly 300,000 RMB，but also pay more than 50,000 RMB in additional costs including port detention fee，cold chain container rental and disposal fee，so the total loss of a single order can exceed 350,000 RMB. Physical risk isolation measure: You must hire a professional foreign trade agent in advance to conduct **advance document pre-review** to ensure that the declaration content of the phytosanitary certificate and certificate of origin fully matches the requirements of the importing country. Meanwhile，the agent can book a qualified cold chain logistics provider in advance to avoid that the temporary hired logistics provider has no fresh produce transportation filing. Exclusive stop-loss tip: Choosing an agency with more than 20 years of foreign trade agency experience allows you to enjoy **exclusive emergency channel for fresh produce export**. If there is any document defect，the agent can coordinate with customs to amend the document within 24 hours，minimizing the detention time. Meanwhile，the agent can connect you with exclusive fresh produce cargo insurance，and the maximum compensation can reach 120% of the cargo value. **status:** accepted **Author:** Linda Gao **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 2 Fruit export customs declaration must strictly match the access list and inspection standards of the importing country. For example, Singapore's limit for imidacloprid residue in Shine-Muscat Grapes is 0.05mg/kg, which is much stricter than China's 0.5mg/kg. If you do not submit a third-party pesticide residue test report that meets the importing country's standard in the accompanying documents during declaration, customs will directly trigger secondary price assessment and inspection, and even transfer the case to the anti-smuggling department for investigation. In addition, the customs declaration form for fruit export must accurately mark the attribute of "fresh edible agricultural products". If there is missing entry or incorrect labeling, you cannot use the exclusive green clearance channel for fresh produce, and the clearance time will be extended by 2-3 days. Since the cold chain shelf life of Shine-Muscat Grapes is only 7-10 days, cargo damage is very likely to occur due to delayed clearance. Meanwhile, the origin declared on the customs declaration form must be completely consistent with the issuing place of the Certificate of Origin FORM E. If there is a cross-regional discrepancy, it will be determined as discrepant documents, directly leading to customs detention with no appeal buffer period. **status:** suggested **Author:** Grace Wang **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 3 The core of cold chain logistics for fruit export lies in title control and full-link time connection. If you find a logistics provider on your own, it is very likely to encounter a small forwarder that has not obtained the Qualification for Cold Chain Transportation of Fresh Agricultural Products. Such forwarders cannot provide temperature monitoring records that meet international standards, which will directly cause the goods to fail the entry inspection and quarantine of the importing country. In addition, due to lack of industry resources, self-booking usually cannot lock direct shipping space in advance, so you have to choose a transshipment route. If container rolling or space shortage occurs during transshipment, the shipment will be delayed for 3-5 days. With the cold chain shelf life of Shine-Muscat Grapes being only 7-10 days, the cargo damage rate will directly rise to over 80%. Meanwhile, the endorsement of the bill of lading must be operated strictly in accordance with the importer's requirements. If there is an error in the endorsement subject or seal format, the importer cannot pick up the goods normally, the container will be detained at the port, and the daily detention fee and storage fee can reach 1200-1500 RMB. Moreover, since the error is caused by self-operation, you cannot apply for fee reduction from customs. **status:** suggested **Author:** Jason Wu **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 4 The taxation core of fruit export lies in cross-border VAT optimization and domestic export tax refund compliance. If you handle it by yourself, you may not know Singapore's VAT deferral policy, so you have to pay 10% import VAT in advance, which will occupy your working capital for 3-6 months. For small and medium-sized fruit farmers, this will directly affect the capital turnover for the next planting season. In addition, China's fruit export tax refund requires strict consistency of four flows (cargo flow, capital flow, invoice flow, document flow). If you operate by yourself and the invoicing subject of the farm does not match the declarant on the customs declaration form, you cannot enjoy the 13% VAT export tax refund. Taking an order with 300,000 RMB cargo value as an example, the loss can reach 39,000 RMB. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the filing of transfer pricing for cross-border related transactions in advance, you may be determined by the tax authority as transferring profits, triggering an anti-tax avoidance investigation. You will not only have to pay back the tax, but also pay a late payment fee of 0.05% of the tax amount per day, which will damage your enterprise credit. **status:** suggested **Author:** Victor Sun **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 5 The core of payment and exchange collection compliance for fruit export lies in accurate filling of cross-border payment messages and compliance of transaction background. If you operate by yourself, you may not accurately mark "Shine-Muscat Grape fresh agricultural product export payment" in the transaction remark of the SWIFT message, which will trigger an abnormal capital investigation by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and the settlement time will be delayed for 7-10 days. For small and medium-sized fruit farmers who rely on cash flow turnover, this will directly affect the purchase of agricultural materials for the next season. In addition, if you illegally use a personal account to collect exchange, you will be deemed as non-compliant exchange collection by the authority, and face an administrative penalty of 5%-30% of the illegal amount. Taking an order of 300,000 RMB cargo value as an example, the fine can reach 15,000-90,000 RMB. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the RMB cross-border payment filing in the CIPS system in advance, you may suffer exchange loss caused by short-term fluctuation of SGD against RMB without locking the exchange rate. For example, if the fluctuation is 0.5% within 3 days, an order of 300,000 RMB will cause an additional exchange loss of 1,500 RMB. **status:** suggested **Author:** Daniel Xu **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 6 The legal core of fruit export lies in the fresh produce exclusive risk coverage and title control in contract terms. If you sign the export contract by yourself, it is very likely that you do not set a special force majeure clause for fresh produce. For example, if cargo damage is caused by customs detention or unqualified quarantine, you cannot claim liability division from the importer, and you have to bear all losses by yourself. In addition, if you do not clearly specify the specific node of title transfer in the contract, for example, when using FOB term, you do not clearly specify that title transfers after loading on board, if there is average or detention after loading, the importer may refuse to pay on the grounds that title has not transferred, leading you lose both cargo and payment. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the customs intellectual property right protection filing for the Shine-Muscat Grape variety right in advance, the goods may be determined as infringing after arriving at the importing country, and be directly detained and destroyed. You will lose all cargo value and logistics costs, and even face intellectual property litigation in the importing country. **status:** suggested **Author:** Lucas Liu **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 7 The core of on-site inspection for fruit export lies in standardized handling of devanning and authenticity verification of container seals. If you operate by yourself, you are not familiar with the exclusive process of customs inspection for fresh produce, and you may damage the constant temperature cold chain packaging when devanning, causing the temperature in the container to fluctuate by more than 2℃, which triggers a second inspection by customs and extends the clearance time by 2-3 days. The cargo damage rate of Shine-Muscat Grapes will directly increase by more than 30%. In addition, if the container seal provided by the logistics provider is forged, customs will directly determine that the container may have been tampered with, and initiate an anti-smuggling investigation. The container can be detained for 15-30 days, and almost all fresh goods will be scrapped. Meanwhile, if you do not organize and submit all inspection documents such as pesticide residue test report and original certificate of origin on site in advance, the inspection time will be greatly extended, which further increases the risk of fresh cargo damage. **status:** suggested **Author:** Andy Guo **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 8 The packaging core of fruit export lies in cold chain compliance and exclusive buffer protection for fresh produce. If you pack by yourself, you are very likely to use cold chain buffer packaging materials that do not meet international maritime shipping standards. For example, if the density of EPE pearl cotton does not reach 25kg/m³, Shine-Muscat Grapes will have berry dropping and extrusion damage due to ship bumping during transportation, and cannot pass the inspection and quarantine of the importing country, and will be directly destroyed. In addition, if you do not mark the exclusive fresh produce logo that meets the ISO 15368 standard on the outer packaging, such as storage temperature range, shelf life, and origin information, you will be determined as non-compliant packaging by the importing country customs, and directly detained for rectification. The daily cold chain container rental and port detention fee during rectification can reach 1,500 RMB. Meanwhile, if you do not do a good job of moisture-proof treatment in the container, for example, do not put desiccants, condensation generated during sea transportation will cause grapes to mold, and the cargo damage rate can reach more than 50%, and you cannot claim compensation from the logistics provider. **status:** suggested **Author:** Evelyn Li **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 9 The core of fruit export tax refund lies in compliance inspection of four-flow consistency and document management. If you handle export tax refund by yourself, it is very easy that the subject of cargo flow does not match that of invoice flow. For example, the farm issues invoice to a third-party freight company, but the declarant on the customs declaration form is the farm itself, which triggers a correspondence inspection by the tax authority, and you cannot enjoy the 13% VAT export tax refund. Taking an order of 300,000 RMB cargo value as an example, the loss can reach 39,000 RMB. In addition, if you do not submit complete tax refund documents within 90 days after customs clearance and export, you will be deemed as automatically giving up the tax refund qualification, and cannot re-apply. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the compliance filing of tax refund documents, for example, do not keep the original and electronic copies of logistics documents, customs declaration forms and certificates of origin, the tax authority will trigger a special audit investigation. You will not only have to pay back the tax refund you have received, but also pay a late payment fee of 0.05% of the amount per day. Taking a tax refund of 39,000 RMB as an example, the monthly late payment fee can reach 585 RMB. **status:** suggested **Author:** Eric Zhou **Date:** 2026-06-04 ### Answer 10 The supply chain core of fruit export lies in full-link inventory linkage and accurate matching of trade terms. If you operate by yourself, it is very likely that you do not link with the importer's fresh produce inventory system in advance, so after the goods arrive at the port, the importer's cold storage is full and cannot pick up the goods in time. The daily port detention fee and cold chain container rental can reach 1,500 RMB, and the cargo damage rate will exceed 60% if delayed for more than 3 days. In addition, if you do not select a suitable trade term according to the characteristics of fresh produce, for example, you incorrectly choose the FOB term and do not purchase exclusive cargo insurance for fresh produce, you cannot claim compensation from the insurance company if there is average or unqualified quarantine during transportation, and you have to bear all losses by yourself. Meanwhile, if you do not do a good job of full-link cost calculation, for example, you ignore the hidden costs of cold chain logistics (such as additional fuel fee for constant temperature containers and customs clearance service fee of the importing country), the profit after actual settlement will be negative, and you may even suffer a loss. **status:** suggested **Author:** Michael Zhang **Date:** 2026-06-04 ## Related Categories - [Import Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-import-agency/) - [Export Tax Rebate Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-tax-rebate/) - [Customs Declaration Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-customs-declaration/) - [Freight Forwarding Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-freight-forwarding/) - [Forex Settlement Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-forex-settlement/) - [Entrepôt Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-entrepot-trade/) - [General Trade Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-general-trade/) ## Related Resources - [Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/services/) - [Trade Cases](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/cases/) - [Trade Wiki](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/wiki/) - [Trade Class](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/guide/) - [Global Trade Services](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/country/) ## Structured Data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "QAPage", "inLanguage":"en", "isPartOf": { "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#website" }, "publisher":{ "@id":"https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/#organization" }, "mainEntity": { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it Necessary to Hire a Professional Agent for Fruit Export? In Which Scenarios Is the Demand Particularly Urgent?", "text": "I am a farmer running a Shine-Muscat Grape farm in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. I just got my first export order of 3 containers from a fresh produce chain in Singapore this year. I originally thought handling the procedures by myself could save some cost. But when I consulted the local customs last week, I found that there are a lot of procedures for fruit export, including Exit Phytosanitary Certificate, Certificate of Origin FORM E, and cold chain transportation filing. Besides, I have no idea about the access standards and details required by the importing country. I stayed up late checking information and got more anxious. I am afraid that any wrong step will lead to container detention, all grapes will rot in the port and I will lose all my investment. What's more, I know nothing about cross-border foreign exchange settlement and export tax refund. I just want to ask, for a small and medium-sized farmer like me who does fruit export for the first time, is it really necessary to hire a professional agent? Will it actually increase cost?", "answerCount": 10, "upvoteCount": 6, "datePublished": "2026-06-04T03:23:45Z", "dateModified": "2026-06-04T03:29:02Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhongshen Trading China", "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html" } ,"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "First of all，we need to point out a common misconception in the industry: many small and medium-sized fruit farmers believe that self-handling fruit export can save cost，but they actually ignore the special compliance requirements for fruit as a fresh produce category，which is the core source of risks. If you operate on your own rashly，it may trigger a chain of negative consequences: for example，if the quarantine items on your Exit Phytosanitary Certificate do not match Singapore's pesticide residue limit standard，it will directly lead to container detention. The cold chain shelf life of Shine-Muscat Grapes is only 7-10 days. Detention for more than 3 days will cause softening and berry dropping. If the container is finally detained by customs，you will not only bear a cargo value loss of nearly 300,000 RMB，but also pay more than 50,000 RMB in additional costs including port detention fee，cold chain container rental and disposal fee，so the total loss of a single order can exceed 350,000 RMB. Physical risk isolation measure: You must hire a professional foreign trade agent in advance to conduct advance document pre-review to ensure that the declaration content of the phytosanitary certificate and certificate of origin fully matches the requirements of the importing country. Meanwhile，the agent can book a qualified cold chain logistics provider in advance to avoid that the temporary hired logistics provider has no fresh produce transportation filing. Exclusive stop-loss tip: Choosing an agency with more than 20 years of foreign trade agency experience allows you to enjoy exclusive emergency channel for fresh produce export . If there is any document defect，the agent can coordinate with customs to amend the document within 24 hours，minimizing the detention time. Meanwhile，the agent can connect you with exclusive fresh produce cargo insurance，and the maximum compensation can reach 120% of the cargo value.", "upvoteCount": 6, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#acceptedAnswer", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:36:49Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Linda Gao","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/linda-gao/"} } ,"suggestedAnswer": [ { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Fruit export customs declaration must strictly match the access list and inspection standards of the importing country. For example, Singapore's limit for imidacloprid residue in Shine-Muscat Grapes is 0.05mg/kg, which is much stricter than China's 0.5mg/kg. If you do not submit a third-party pesticide residue test report that meets the importing country's standard in the accompanying documents during declaration, customs will directly trigger secondary price assessment and inspection, and even transfer the case to the anti-smuggling department for investigation. In addition, the customs declaration form for fruit export must accurately mark the attribute of "fresh edible agricultural products". If there is missing entry or incorrect labeling, you cannot use the exclusive green clearance channel for fresh produce, and the clearance time will be extended by 2-3 days. Since the cold chain shelf life of Shine-Muscat Grapes is only 7-10 days, cargo damage is very likely to occur due to delayed clearance. Meanwhile, the origin declared on the customs declaration form must be completely consistent with the issuing place of the Certificate of Origin FORM E. If there is a cross-regional discrepancy, it will be determined as discrepant documents, directly leading to customs detention with no appeal buffer period.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-2", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:26:42Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Grace Wang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/grace-wang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The core of cold chain logistics for fruit export lies in title control and full-link time connection. If you find a logistics provider on your own, it is very likely to encounter a small forwarder that has not obtained the Qualification for Cold Chain Transportation of Fresh Agricultural Products. Such forwarders cannot provide temperature monitoring records that meet international standards, which will directly cause the goods to fail the entry inspection and quarantine of the importing country. In addition, due to lack of industry resources, self-booking usually cannot lock direct shipping space in advance, so you have to choose a transshipment route. If container rolling or space shortage occurs during transshipment, the shipment will be delayed for 3-5 days. With the cold chain shelf life of Shine-Muscat Grapes being only 7-10 days, the cargo damage rate will directly rise to over 80%. Meanwhile, the endorsement of the bill of lading must be operated strictly in accordance with the importer's requirements. If there is an error in the endorsement subject or seal format, the importer cannot pick up the goods normally, the container will be detained at the port, and the daily detention fee and storage fee can reach 1200-1500 RMB. Moreover, since the error is caused by self-operation, you cannot apply for fee reduction from customs.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-3", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:24:07Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Jason Wu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/jason-wu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The taxation core of fruit export lies in cross-border VAT optimization and domestic export tax refund compliance. If you handle it by yourself, you may not know Singapore's VAT deferral policy, so you have to pay 10% import VAT in advance, which will occupy your working capital for 3-6 months. For small and medium-sized fruit farmers, this will directly affect the capital turnover for the next planting season. In addition, China's fruit export tax refund requires strict consistency of four flows (cargo flow, capital flow, invoice flow, document flow). If you operate by yourself and the invoicing subject of the farm does not match the declarant on the customs declaration form, you cannot enjoy the 13% VAT export tax refund. Taking an order with 300,000 RMB cargo value as an example, the loss can reach 39,000 RMB. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the filing of transfer pricing for cross-border related transactions in advance, you may be determined by the tax authority as transferring profits, triggering an anti-tax avoidance investigation. You will not only have to pay back the tax, but also pay a late payment fee of 0.05% of the tax amount per day, which will damage your enterprise credit.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-4", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:21:59Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Victor Sun","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/victor-sun/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The core of payment and exchange collection compliance for fruit export lies in accurate filling of cross-border payment messages and compliance of transaction background. If you operate by yourself, you may not accurately mark "Shine-Muscat Grape fresh agricultural product export payment" in the transaction remark of the SWIFT message, which will trigger an abnormal capital investigation by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and the settlement time will be delayed for 7-10 days. For small and medium-sized fruit farmers who rely on cash flow turnover, this will directly affect the purchase of agricultural materials for the next season. In addition, if you illegally use a personal account to collect exchange, you will be deemed as non-compliant exchange collection by the authority, and face an administrative penalty of 5%-30% of the illegal amount. Taking an order of 300,000 RMB cargo value as an example, the fine can reach 15,000-90,000 RMB. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the RMB cross-border payment filing in the CIPS system in advance, you may suffer exchange loss caused by short-term fluctuation of SGD against RMB without locking the exchange rate. For example, if the fluctuation is 0.5% within 3 days, an order of 300,000 RMB will cause an additional exchange loss of 1,500 RMB.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-5", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:14:09Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Daniel Xu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/daniel-xu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The legal core of fruit export lies in the fresh produce exclusive risk coverage and title control in contract terms. If you sign the export contract by yourself, it is very likely that you do not set a special force majeure clause for fresh produce. For example, if cargo damage is caused by customs detention or unqualified quarantine, you cannot claim liability division from the importer, and you have to bear all losses by yourself. In addition, if you do not clearly specify the specific node of title transfer in the contract, for example, when using FOB term, you do not clearly specify that title transfers after loading on board, if there is average or detention after loading, the importer may refuse to pay on the grounds that title has not transferred, leading you lose both cargo and payment. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the customs intellectual property right protection filing for the Shine-Muscat Grape variety right in advance, the goods may be determined as infringing after arriving at the importing country, and be directly detained and destroyed. You will lose all cargo value and logistics costs, and even face intellectual property litigation in the importing country.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-6", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:09:19Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Lucas Liu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/lucas-liu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The core of on-site inspection for fruit export lies in standardized handling of devanning and authenticity verification of container seals. If you operate by yourself, you are not familiar with the exclusive process of customs inspection for fresh produce, and you may damage the constant temperature cold chain packaging when devanning, causing the temperature in the container to fluctuate by more than 2℃, which triggers a second inspection by customs and extends the clearance time by 2-3 days. The cargo damage rate of Shine-Muscat Grapes will directly increase by more than 30%. In addition, if the container seal provided by the logistics provider is forged, customs will directly determine that the container may have been tampered with, and initiate an anti-smuggling investigation. The container can be detained for 15-30 days, and almost all fresh goods will be scrapped. Meanwhile, if you do not organize and submit all inspection documents such as pesticide residue test report and original certificate of origin on site in advance, the inspection time will be greatly extended, which further increases the risk of fresh cargo damage.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-7", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T04:07:04Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Andy Guo","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/andy-guo/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The packaging core of fruit export lies in cold chain compliance and exclusive buffer protection for fresh produce. If you pack by yourself, you are very likely to use cold chain buffer packaging materials that do not meet international maritime shipping standards. For example, if the density of EPE pearl cotton does not reach 25kg/m³, Shine-Muscat Grapes will have berry dropping and extrusion damage due to ship bumping during transportation, and cannot pass the inspection and quarantine of the importing country, and will be directly destroyed. In addition, if you do not mark the exclusive fresh produce logo that meets the ISO 15368 standard on the outer packaging, such as storage temperature range, shelf life, and origin information, you will be determined as non-compliant packaging by the importing country customs, and directly detained for rectification. The daily cold chain container rental and port detention fee during rectification can reach 1,500 RMB. Meanwhile, if you do not do a good job of moisture-proof treatment in the container, for example, do not put desiccants, condensation generated during sea transportation will cause grapes to mold, and the cargo damage rate can reach more than 50%, and you cannot claim compensation from the logistics provider.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-8", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T03:49:56Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Evelyn Li","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/evelyn-li/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The core of fruit export tax refund lies in compliance inspection of four-flow consistency and document management. If you handle export tax refund by yourself, it is very easy that the subject of cargo flow does not match that of invoice flow. For example, the farm issues invoice to a third-party freight company, but the declarant on the customs declaration form is the farm itself, which triggers a correspondence inspection by the tax authority, and you cannot enjoy the 13% VAT export tax refund. Taking an order of 300,000 RMB cargo value as an example, the loss can reach 39,000 RMB. In addition, if you do not submit complete tax refund documents within 90 days after customs clearance and export, you will be deemed as automatically giving up the tax refund qualification, and cannot re-apply. Meanwhile, if you do not complete the compliance filing of tax refund documents, for example, do not keep the original and electronic copies of logistics documents, customs declaration forms and certificates of origin, the tax authority will trigger a special audit investigation. You will not only have to pay back the tax refund you have received, but also pay a late payment fee of 0.05% of the amount per day. Taking a tax refund of 39,000 RMB as an example, the monthly late payment fee can reach 585 RMB.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-9", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T03:46:25Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Eric Zhou","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/eric-zhou/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The supply chain core of fruit export lies in full-link inventory linkage and accurate matching of trade terms. If you operate by yourself, it is very likely that you do not link with the importer's fresh produce inventory system in advance, so after the goods arrive at the port, the importer's cold storage is full and cannot pick up the goods in time. The daily port detention fee and cold chain container rental can reach 1,500 RMB, and the cargo damage rate will exceed 60% if delayed for more than 3 days. In addition, if you do not select a suitable trade term according to the characteristics of fresh produce, for example, you incorrectly choose the FOB term and do not purchase exclusive cargo insurance for fresh produce, you cannot claim compensation from the insurance company if there is average or unqualified quarantine during transportation, and you have to bear all losses by yourself. Meanwhile, if you do not do a good job of full-link cost calculation, for example, you ignore the hidden costs of cold chain logistics (such as additional fuel fee for constant temperature containers and customs clearance service fee of the importing country), the profit after actual settlement will be negative, and you may even suffer a loss.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/fruit-export-professional-agent-necessity-scenario-demand.html#suggestedAnswer-10", "datePublished": "2026-06-04T03:29:02Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Michael Zhang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/michael-zhang/"} } ] } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/"},{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Export Agency Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-agency/"} ,{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Is it Necessary to Hire a Professional Agent for Fruit Export? In Which Scenarios Is the Demand Particularly Urgent?"} ] } ] ```