Before the Western Europe-Western China Road opened to traffic, transporting fresh produce from Horgos – a border city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region – to Almaty took two to three days. Now, apples and nectarines are plucked in the morning, loaded onto trucks at midday, to be sent on a six-hour journey, crossing the border from Horgos and arriving at Almaty, Kazakhstan in the evening.
Yu Chengzhong, chairman of Jinyi Group, and fruit and vegetable wholesaler, said that the opening of the road and the improved clearance processes have greatly reduced transportation times. The shortened time has ensured the freshness of fruits, cut costs, and improved efficiency for businesses, Yu said.
To ensure the quality of fresh agricultural products, a green channel was established at the port in 2019 to increase the efficiency of customs clearance, said Chen Pengde, deputy head of Horgos Customs.
Source: chinadaily.com.cn