Background and Common Difficulties of Southeast Asian Tropical Fruit Imports at Shanghai Port

In 2026,the volume of imported Southeast Asian tropical fruits through Shanghai Port increased by 18% year-on-year,with the import volume of individual items such as durian and mangosteen exceeding 120,000 tons.However,many traders reported being stuck during clearance due to non-compliant certificate of origin formats and improper phytosanitary treatment.Last week,Ms.Xu’s trading company encountered such a problem: 12 tons of Monthong durian imported from Thailand were required to resubmit documents by the commodity inspection department of Shanghai Pudong Port because the certificate of origin did not indicate "heat treatment".This not only delayed the delivery by 3 days but also incurred storage fees of 2,000 yuan per day.

Such issues are not isolated: From January to June 2026,rejected documents for tropical fruit imports accounted for 27% of total rejected cases at Shanghai Port.The difficulties focus on three aspects: First,the formats of certificate of origin vary across Southeast Asian countries,and some countries require additional heat treatment certificates; Second,Shanghai Port’s quarantine requirements for tropical fruits are adjusted seasonally (e.g.fruit fly testing required in summer); Third,foreign exchange receipt and payment procedures need to match the short cycle of fruit imports.

Core Role of Zhongshen Import Agency Services in Tropical Fruit Imports

Zhongshen has been engaged in foreign trade agency services for over 20 years.Targeting the characteristics of tropical fruit imports at Shanghai Port,we have established a service mechanism of "pre-arrival review + port coordination + quarantine docking".Unlike general agencies that only handle customs declaration,Zhongshen intervenes from the moment the customer signs the purchase contract,assisting in reviewing the qualifications and documents of Southeast Asian suppliers to avoid compliance risks in advance.

Taking Ms.Xu’s company as an example: After receiving the consultation,Zhongshen immediately reviewed the sample certificate of origin provided by the Thai supplier and found that it failed to indicate the information of "heat treatment temperature above 55℃,duration 30 minutes" as required in Shanghai Commodity Inspection Announcement No.12 of 2026.Subsequently,Zhongshen assisted the supplier in contacting the local certification body in Thailand to supplement the certificate,and finally completed the document review before the goods arrived at the port.The clearance time was shortened by 4 days compared with Ms.Xu’s previous experience.

Breakdown of Tropical Fruit Import Process Stages and Zhongshen’s Assistance Plans

1.Document Review Stage: Focus on Compliance of Certificate of Origin and Quarantine Certificates

The document requirements for tropical fruit imports are stricter than those for general goods,with the core being certificate of origin,Phytosanitary Certificate and heat treatment certificate.In 2026,Shanghai Commodity Inspection added a requirement for "orchard registration number" on the certificate of origin for Southeast Asian fruits,and many traders were rejected due to overlooking this detail.

Zhongshen’s assistance during the document review stage includes:

• Providingthe2026versionof"DocumentListforTropicalFruitImportsatShanghaiPort"inadvance,clarifying12requireditemssuchasorchardnumberandheattreatmentparametersthatmustbeincludedinthecertificateoforigin;
• ConnectingwithlocalcertificationbodiesofSoutheastAsiansupplierstoassistinsupplementingmissingsupportingdocuments;
• Usingtheself-developeddocumentreviewsystemtocompletecompliancecheckswithin12hours,avoidingportdetentionduetodocumentissuesafterthegoodsarriveattheport.

2.Port Customs Declaration Stage: Match Clearance Efficiency for Short-cycle Fruits

Tropical fruits have a short shelf life (about 7 days for durian,5 days for mangosteen),so port customs declaration efficiency directly affects the freshness of the goods.In 2026,Shanghai Port implemented an "appointment-based customs declaration" system,and goods without an appointment need to queue for 3-5 days.

Zhongshen’s customs declaration service advantages include:

• Completingcustomsdeclarationappointment3daysinadvancetoensuredeclarationwithin24hoursafterthegoodsarriveattheport;
• DedicatedcustomsdeclarationteamdockingwithcustomswindowsatShanghaiPudongandYangshanPorts,familiarwiththe"greenchannel"policiesforfruitimports(suchaspre-inspectionandquarantine);
• Trackingcustomsdeclarationprogressinrealtime,andcoordinatingsolutionswithin1hourifissuessuchasinconsistentmanifestinformationoccur.

3.Commodity Inspection Stage: Respond to Seasonal Quarantine Requirement Adjustments

In summer 2026,Shanghai Port added a "fruit fly egg detection" project for Southeast Asian fruits,and many traders were delayed due to failing to prepare test samples in advance.Zhongshen’s assistance plans for this requirement are as follows:

Actual Case: Zhongshen Helped Avoid Rejection Risks

In May 2026,Ms.Zhu’s trading company imported 15 tons of mangosteen from Vietnam,and was required to return the documents by the commodity inspection department of Shanghai Yangshan Port because the phytosanitary certificate provided by the supplier did not indicate "Vietnamese orchard registration number VN-1234".After contacting Zhongshen,Director Xia from Zhongshen immediately connected with the Vietnamese supplier,assisted them in contacting the Vietnamese agricultural department to supplement the registration number certificate,and submitted a status explanation to the commodity inspection department simultaneously.Eventually,the goods were cleared after only 1 day of delay,avoiding 12,000 yuan in storage fees and customer liquidated damages caused by document rejection.

Director Xia summarized: "The core of tropical fruit import is ’pre-compliance’.Many traders only pay attention to prices and ignore the details of documents and quarantine.The advantage of Zhongshen is to implement these details in advance,helping customers save time and reduce costs."

Summary: Value of Zhongshen Professional Agency Services

The competition for tropical fruit imports at Shanghai Port in 2026 has shifted from "price war" to "compliance efficiency war".With over 20 years of industry experience,Zhongshen provides one-stop full-process agency services targeting the unique document and quarantine requirements of tropical fruits,helping customers:

• Improveclearanceefficiencyby30%-40%,reducingfruitloss;
• Avoidover90%ofdocumenterrorsandquarantinenon-compliancerisks;
• Alignforeignexchangereceiptandpaymentandexchangesettlementprocedureswiththeshortcycleoffruits,acceleratingcapitalturnover.

For traders in Shanghai,choosing a professional import agency customs declaration company is not just about completing a single clearance,but also a key step to reduce risks and enhance competitiveness.