On March 31, "Seves”, a container ship loaded with over 4,400 tons of Zespri golden kiwis, arrived at the Port of Nangang, Shanghai (photo courtesy of Shanghai Customs).
At 11:30 on March 31, the Singaporean vessel ”Seves”, carrying 4458 pallets of a total of more than 4,400 tons of Zespri golden kiwis, arrived at the Port of Nangang. Port inspection units such as the Yangshan Frontier Inspection Station have implemented strict prevention and control measures to ensure efficient customs clearance and timely unloading of cargo. These fresh kiwis will be quickly marketed after the completion of relevant inspection and entry quarantine procedures.
It is now autumn in New Zealand and the harvest of kiwifruit is underway. As early as the beginning of March, Zespri established pre-sale channels with major Chinese e-commerce companies, so as to allow consumers to purchase fresh kiwis without leaving their homes. According to the Yangshan Border Checkpoint, on March 19, "Seves”, loaded with the first volume of new crop for Shanghai and surrounding areas this year, left the Port of Tauranga in New Zealand for the Port of Nangang in Shanghai. It only took just over 10 days for the fruit to leave the tree and arrive in Shanghai. The large-scale, direct shipping not only maintains the quality of the fresh fruit but also effectively reduces the transportation cost. The Yangshan border inspection station enters the import fruit business season each March.
To transport the cargo from the cold storage on the vessel to the warehouse in the port, products need to unload and go through a short barge transfer. To ensure that the products are chilled and fresh throughout the process, the border inspection station handles the entry and inspection procedures of the vessel and the boarding permit for unloading workers in advance, so that the cargo can be unloaded as soon as the customs inspections are completed at the port. At the same time, the vessel will be monitored throughout the period when it is in the port, to ensure that the personnel is able to board and deboard the vessel at any time and the fruit is continuously unloaded.
It is reported that for many years, policy innovation at the port and the integration between customs and between logistics and trade have allowed many imported fruits to enjoy full-process cold chain services, including Zespri kiwis from New Zealand, grapefruit from South Africa, and prunes from Chile, which greatly shortens the inspection and customs clearance process and effectively reduces the costs of logistics and time.
With the improvement of living standards, sales of kiwis from New Zealand in China have been increasing year by year, and the Greater China region has become the world's largest market for Zespri for many years. It is reported that following the Green and the SunGold varieties, Zespri plans to launch a Red variety this year, which is as sweet as SunGold and is rich in anthocyanins. It won’t be long before consumers can taste the first Zespri kiwis of this year and the latest variety from the comfort of their homes.
Source: Sohu.com