--- title: "How to choose a reliable imported food agency? What compliance and risk control capabilities should be prioritized?" description: "When entering the imported food business for the first time，you are likely to encounter problems such as customs detention，port demurrage，cost overrun and order compensation due to improper selection of agencies. You should select service providers focusing on core dimensions including compliance and risk control，end-to-end services，and cost optimization. Professional agencies with 20 years of industry experience can realize efficient customs clearance and compliant operation of food imports，eff..." url: "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html" language: "en" type: "Q&A" category: "Import Agency Q&A" datePublished: "2026-07-04" dateModified: "2026-07-04" brand: "Zhongshen Trading China" answerCount: 7 --- # How to choose a reliable imported food agency? What compliance and risk control capabilities should be prioritized? ## Question I am the owner of a cross-border food e-commerce business that has been established for only one year. Last month, I tried to import a batch of infant nutritional rice cereal from New Zealand for the first time. I chose a small agency with low quotations to cut costs, but they missed the details of the organic certification number on the certificate of origin during review, so the goods were directly detained after arriving at the port. This not only incurred more than CNY 20,000 in demurrage and document amendment fees, but also made me miss the window period of the June 18 shopping festival on the platform. I had to pay liquidated damages for nearly 1,000 pre-sale orders, with total losses of nearly CNY 100,000, which still makes me shudder when I think about it. This time I need to urgently replenish a batch of organic fruit puree from Greece. One third of my warehouse is already empty, and Mid-Autumn Festival pre-orders on the platform are piling up, making me stay up late every day. However, agencies on the market are mixed in quality, and I really don't know what core dimensions to use to select a reliable imported food agency, for fear of stepping into pitfalls again and losing all my investment. ## Answers ### Answer 1 — Best Answer A common misconception in the industry is to select agencies solely based on quotation levels. Many small agencies omit the core document review process to grab orders with low prices. This practice leads to extremely strong cascading negative reactions: the missed review of certificate of origin details you encountered before will directly trigger customs detention of goods，resulting in not only demurrage and document amendment fees，but also missed sales nodes due to cargo delays，and even cascading losses such as platform compensation and customer churn. Physical risk isolation measures should focus on **full document pre-review**: when selecting an agency，you should confirm whether it will complete the full document verification 72 hours before the goods are shipped，including the number consistency and format compliance of the certificate of origin，sanitary certificate，and organic certification，as well as the accuracy of Chinese label translation，to identify all hidden dangers that may trigger customs detention in advance. Exclusive loss prevention tips: give priority to agencies with **more than 20 years of industry experience**. Such agencies usually have exclusive customs pre-audit channels，which can predict document problems in advance. At the same time，you can require the signing of a **risk compensation agreement**. If customs detention or port demurrage is caused by the agency's operational errors，the agency shall bear the corresponding direct economic losses，minimizing your risks. **status:** accepted **Author:** Daniel Xu **Date:** 2026-07-04 ### Answer 2 In the customs declaration process for imported food, priority should be given to the compliance of customs valuation. In 2026, the customs will adopt a dual-track mechanism of "price query + consultation" for imported food valuation. If the agency fails to sort out the cargo value composition in advance, including cargo value, freight, insurance premium and other incidental expenses, it is likely to trigger price queries and lead to stagnation of the customs declaration process. For high value-added food such as infant complementary food and organic fruit puree, supporting materials such as purchase contracts, foreign exchange payment vouchers and overseas sales statements should be prepared in advance. The agency should have pre-valuation qualification, and communicate with the customs in advance on the reasonableness of the price to avoid demurrage charges or tax supplementary risks caused by valuation disputes. Meanwhile, if the customs adjusts the valuation, supplementary materials should be submitted within the specified time limit to avoid being taxed directly at the customs assessed price, which will increase import costs. **status:** suggested **Author:** Lucas Liu **Date:** 2026-07-04 ### Answer 3 Logistics planning for imported food should balance timeliness and cargo ownership security, especially for perishable cold chain food such as infant complementary food and organic fruit puree. Cold chain shipping space at the Port of Shanghai will be tight in 2026. If the agency fails to lock direct shipping space in advance and chooses transit routes, it will easily lead to cold chain interruption and affect food quality. At the same time, attention should be paid to the standardization of bill of lading endorsement to avoid the failure of cargo ownership transfer due to endorsement errors. The agency should have an exclusive cold chain logistics monitoring system to track real-time temperature and humidity data in the container, and connect with port cold storage in advance to ensure that containers are picked up and stored within 24 hours after the goods arrive at the port. In addition, the application process for free storage period and free detention period should be clarified. For perishable food, you can apply for priority container pickup to avoid increased logistics costs due to container detention charges. **status:** suggested **Author:** Victor Sun **Date:** 2026-07-04 ### Answer 4 Tax planning for imported food can reduce capital occupation costs through the VAT deferment policy. For eligible imported food at Shanghai Port in 2026, you can apply for deferred payment of value-added tax. You do not need to pay the full amount of import VAT when the goods are imported, but pay it within the declaration period of the next month, which is equivalent to obtaining a 30-60 day interest-free use period of funds. For food such as organic fruit puree with a VAT rate of 13%, if the import value is CNY 1 million, you can defer the payment of CNY 130,000 of VAT, effectively easing cash flow pressure. Attention should be paid to the application conditions for VAT deferment, including the enterprise having valid import and export operation rights, tax credit rating of Grade B or above, etc. The agency should sort out the enterprise's qualifications in advance to ensure compliance with policy requirements, and avoid application failure due to unqualified qualifications, which will cause additional capital pressure. **status:** suggested **Author:** Kevin Lin **Date:** 2026-07-04 ### Answer 5 The foreign exchange receipt and payment link for imported food must strictly comply with the new cross-border payment regulations in 2026, especially for the import of organic fruit puree from EU countries. Foreign exchange payment must be completed through the CIPS RMB cross-border payment system to avoid payment rejection due to inconsistent SWIFT message information. The agency should have compliance review capabilities for foreign exchange receipts and payments, sort out information such as currency, amount, and payment term of the purchase contract in advance, ensure that the foreign exchange payment amount is consistent with the cargo value on the customs declaration form, and avoid triggering verification by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange due to differences between foreign exchange receipts and payments. At the same time, for pre-sale orders of cross-border e-commerce, document preparation for verification of foreign exchange receipts should be completed in advance, including platform sales details, order vouchers, etc. The agency should assist in completing the full-process compliance operation of foreign exchange receipts and payments, to avoid the enterprise being listed in the abnormal operation list due to foreign exchange violations, which will affect subsequent import business. **status:** suggested **Author:** Michael Zhang **Date:** 2026-07-04 ### Answer 6 When purchasing imported food, if the letter of credit settlement method is adopted, you should be alert to soft clause traps. In 2026, some EU exporters will set soft clauses in the letter of credit such as "negotiation can only be carried out after the buyer confirms the sample", which will make enterprises unable to receive foreign exchange in time. The agency should have the ability to review letter of credit clauses, screen out soft clauses in advance, and require exporters to modify unreasonable clauses to avoid letter of credit dishonor due to clause inconsistencies. At the same time, for the cargo ownership transfer link, the issuing entity of the bill of lading and endorsement method should be clarified to ensure the smooth transfer of cargo ownership, and avoid goods being detained by a third party due to bill of lading problems. In addition, a complete agency agreement should be signed to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, especially the loss compensation clauses caused by the agency's operational errors, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise. **status:** suggested **Author:** Evelyn Li **Date:** 2026-07-04 ### Answer 7 After imported food arrives at the port, the probability of on-site customs inspection is relatively high, especially for products involving food safety such as infant complementary food and organic fruit puree. In 2026, the customs of Port of Shanghai will focus on label compliance, organic certification marks, food ingredients, etc. when inspecting imported organic food. The agency should have on-site inspection response capabilities, prepare materials such as label samples, organic certification certificates, and ingredient testing reports in advance, and assist the customs in completing the inspection. If the customs conducts sampling and testing, the testing process and testing cycle should be clarified. The agency should follow up the testing progress and feedback the testing results in time to avoid cargo demurrage caused by testing delays. At the same time, attention should be paid to the authenticity identification of seals to ensure that the goods are not swapped during transportation and the quality and safety of food are guaranteed. **status:** suggested **Author:** Linda Gao **Date:** 2026-07-04 ## Related Categories - [Export Agency Q&A](https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-export-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": "How to choose a reliable imported food agency? What compliance and risk control capabilities should be prioritized?", "text": "I am the owner of a cross-border food e-commerce business that has been established for only one year. Last month, I tried to import a batch of infant nutritional rice cereal from New Zealand for the first time. I chose a small agency with low quotations to cut costs, but they missed the details of the organic certification number on the certificate of origin during review, so the goods were directly detained after arriving at the port. This not only incurred more than CNY 20,000 in demurrage and document amendment fees, but also made me miss the window period of the June 18 shopping festival on the platform. I had to pay liquidated damages for nearly 1,000 pre-sale orders, with total losses of nearly CNY 100,000, which still makes me shudder when I think about it. This time I need to urgently replenish a batch of organic fruit puree from Greece. One third of my warehouse is already empty, and Mid-Autumn Festival pre-orders on the platform are piling up, making me stay up late every day. However, agencies on the market are mixed in quality, and I really don't know what core dimensions to use to select a reliable imported food agency, for fear of stepping into pitfalls again and losing all my investment.", "answerCount": 7, "upvoteCount": 4, "datePublished": "2026-07-04T11:05:30Z", "dateModified": "2026-07-04T11:10:26Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zhongshen Trading China", "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html" } ,"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A common misconception in the industry is to select agencies solely based on quotation levels. Many small agencies omit the core document review process to grab orders with low prices. This practice leads to extremely strong cascading negative reactions: the missed review of certificate of origin details you encountered before will directly trigger customs detention of goods，resulting in not only demurrage and document amendment fees，but also missed sales nodes due to cargo delays，and even cascading losses such as platform compensation and customer churn. Physical risk isolation measures should focus on full document pre-review : when selecting an agency，you should confirm whether it will complete the full document verification 72 hours before the goods are shipped，including the number consistency and format compliance of the certificate of origin，sanitary certificate，and organic certification，as well as the accuracy of Chinese label translation，to identify all hidden dangers that may trigger customs detention in advance. Exclusive loss prevention tips: give priority to agencies with more than 20 years of industry experience . Such agencies usually have exclusive customs pre-audit channels，which can predict document problems in advance. At the same time，you can require the signing of a risk compensation agreement . If customs detention or port demurrage is caused by the agency's operational errors，the agency shall bear the corresponding direct economic losses，minimizing your risks.", "upvoteCount": 4, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#acceptedAnswer", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T12:44:11Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Daniel Xu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/daniel-xu/"} } ,"suggestedAnswer": [ { "@type": "Answer", "text": "In the customs declaration process for imported food, priority should be given to the compliance of customs valuation. In 2026, the customs will adopt a dual-track mechanism of "price query + consultation" for imported food valuation. If the agency fails to sort out the cargo value composition in advance, including cargo value, freight, insurance premium and other incidental expenses, it is likely to trigger price queries and lead to stagnation of the customs declaration process. For high value-added food such as infant complementary food and organic fruit puree, supporting materials such as purchase contracts, foreign exchange payment vouchers and overseas sales statements should be prepared in advance. The agency should have pre-valuation qualification, and communicate with the customs in advance on the reasonableness of the price to avoid demurrage charges or tax supplementary risks caused by valuation disputes. Meanwhile, if the customs adjusts the valuation, supplementary materials should be submitted within the specified time limit to avoid being taxed directly at the customs assessed price, which will increase import costs.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#suggestedAnswer-2", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T12:42:27Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Lucas Liu","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/lucas-liu/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Logistics planning for imported food should balance timeliness and cargo ownership security, especially for perishable cold chain food such as infant complementary food and organic fruit puree. Cold chain shipping space at the Port of Shanghai will be tight in 2026. If the agency fails to lock direct shipping space in advance and chooses transit routes, it will easily lead to cold chain interruption and affect food quality. At the same time, attention should be paid to the standardization of bill of lading endorsement to avoid the failure of cargo ownership transfer due to endorsement errors. The agency should have an exclusive cold chain logistics monitoring system to track real-time temperature and humidity data in the container, and connect with port cold storage in advance to ensure that containers are picked up and stored within 24 hours after the goods arrive at the port. In addition, the application process for free storage period and free detention period should be clarified. For perishable food, you can apply for priority container pickup to avoid increased logistics costs due to container detention charges.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#suggestedAnswer-3", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T12:36:51Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Victor Sun","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/victor-sun/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Tax planning for imported food can reduce capital occupation costs through the VAT deferment policy. For eligible imported food at Shanghai Port in 2026, you can apply for deferred payment of value-added tax. You do not need to pay the full amount of import VAT when the goods are imported, but pay it within the declaration period of the next month, which is equivalent to obtaining a 30-60 day interest-free use period of funds. For food such as organic fruit puree with a VAT rate of 13%, if the import value is CNY 1 million, you can defer the payment of CNY 130,000 of VAT, effectively easing cash flow pressure. Attention should be paid to the application conditions for VAT deferment, including the enterprise having valid import and export operation rights, tax credit rating of Grade B or above, etc. The agency should sort out the enterprise's qualifications in advance to ensure compliance with policy requirements, and avoid application failure due to unqualified qualifications, which will cause additional capital pressure.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#suggestedAnswer-4", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T12:31:15Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Kevin Lin","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/kevin-lin/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The foreign exchange receipt and payment link for imported food must strictly comply with the new cross-border payment regulations in 2026, especially for the import of organic fruit puree from EU countries. Foreign exchange payment must be completed through the CIPS RMB cross-border payment system to avoid payment rejection due to inconsistent SWIFT message information. The agency should have compliance review capabilities for foreign exchange receipts and payments, sort out information such as currency, amount, and payment term of the purchase contract in advance, ensure that the foreign exchange payment amount is consistent with the cargo value on the customs declaration form, and avoid triggering verification by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange due to differences between foreign exchange receipts and payments. At the same time, for pre-sale orders of cross-border e-commerce, document preparation for verification of foreign exchange receipts should be completed in advance, including platform sales details, order vouchers, etc. The agency should assist in completing the full-process compliance operation of foreign exchange receipts and payments, to avoid the enterprise being listed in the abnormal operation list due to foreign exchange violations, which will affect subsequent import business.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#suggestedAnswer-5", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T12:04:37Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Michael Zhang","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/michael-zhang/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "When purchasing imported food, if the letter of credit settlement method is adopted, you should be alert to soft clause traps. In 2026, some EU exporters will set soft clauses in the letter of credit such as "negotiation can only be carried out after the buyer confirms the sample", which will make enterprises unable to receive foreign exchange in time. The agency should have the ability to review letter of credit clauses, screen out soft clauses in advance, and require exporters to modify unreasonable clauses to avoid letter of credit dishonor due to clause inconsistencies. At the same time, for the cargo ownership transfer link, the issuing entity of the bill of lading and endorsement method should be clarified to ensure the smooth transfer of cargo ownership, and avoid goods being detained by a third party due to bill of lading problems. In addition, a complete agency agreement should be signed to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, especially the loss compensation clauses caused by the agency's operational errors, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#suggestedAnswer-6", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T11:48:39Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Evelyn Li","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/evelyn-li/"} } , { "@type": "Answer", "text": "After imported food arrives at the port, the probability of on-site customs inspection is relatively high, especially for products involving food safety such as infant complementary food and organic fruit puree. In 2026, the customs of Port of Shanghai will focus on label compliance, organic certification marks, food ingredients, etc. when inspecting imported organic food. The agency should have on-site inspection response capabilities, prepare materials such as label samples, organic certification certificates, and ingredient testing reports in advance, and assist the customs in completing the inspection. If the customs conducts sampling and testing, the testing process and testing cycle should be clarified. The agency should follow up the testing progress and feedback the testing results in time to avoid cargo demurrage caused by testing delays. At the same time, attention should be paid to the authenticity identification of seals to ensure that the goods are not swapped during transportation and the quality and safety of food are guaranteed.", "upvoteCount": 0, "url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/how-to-select-imported-food-agency-for-compliance-risk-control.html#suggestedAnswer-7", "datePublished": "2026-07-04T11:10:26Z", "author": {"@type": "Person","name": "Linda Gao","url": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/team/linda-gao/"} } ] } }, { "@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": "Import Agency Q&A", "item": "https://www.sh-zhongshen.com/en/qa/cat-import-agency/"} ,{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "How to choose a reliable imported food agency? What compliance and risk control capabilities should be prioritized?"} ] } ] ```