I.Core Difficulties of Importing Southeast Asian Fruits to Taiyuan

In 2026,sales of Thai durian and Malaysian mangosteen in Taiyuan supermarkets increased by nearly 30% year-on-year.Many local traders want to import in bulk directly from Southeast Asia,but the threshold for import in inland cities is not low: they need to first understand the transshipment process at Tianjin Port,keep an eye on the cold chain timeliness of fruits,and worry about cargo detention by customs due to incomplete quarantine documents.Manager Peng encountered a pitfall last year: 12 tons of durian imported from Thailand arrived at Tianjin Port,but customs clearance was delayed for 3 days due to a missing translated copy of the orchard registration number.When the goods finally arrived in Taiyuan,nearly 20% of the durian had gone bad.

1.Broken Cold Chain Connection Between Ports and Inland Areas

Taiyuan has no direct seaport,so fruits need to be transshipped from Tianjin Port or Qingdao Port.Many cold chain trucks hired by importers do not have the qualification for the "Green Channel for Fresh Agricultural Products",so delays of 1 to 2 days at highway toll gates are common.In addition,discontinuous cold chain temperature monitoring during transport from ports to inland areas easily causes fruits to deteriorate due to temperature fluctuations.

2."Hidden Threshold" for Quarantine Approval

Import of Southeast Asian fruits requires advance processing of the Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine Permit.Some importers in Taiyuan are not aware of the update frequency of the "List of Designated Orchards/Packing Plants".In 2026,3 durian orchards in Thailand were removed from the list due to excessive pesticide residues.If suppliers still declare with the old list,the goods will face direct return.

3."Detail Traps" in Document Compliance

Fruit import documents must include the official quarantine certificate of the exporting country,orchard registration number,packaging material declaration,etc.Any mismatch of number or date with the bill of lading will lead to rejection by customs.When Manager Peng declared for the first time,the "place of origin" on the quarantine certificate was written as "Southern Thailand" while the bill of lading stated "Chumphon Province,Thailand",resulting in rejection of the transshipment application.

II.Core Role of Zhongshen in Taiyuan Fruit Import

Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in import agency for more than 20 years.In response to the import demands of inland cities like Taiyuan,it has specially built a "port pre-processing + inland connection" service system.It not only has a permanent docking team at Tianjin Port and Qingdao Port,but also has signed priority scheduling agreements with 3 local cold chain warehouses in Taiyuan,which can shorten the time from fruit arrival at the port to storage to within 48 hours.Manager Peng later sought help from Zhongshen because of its ability to pre-audit documents in advance and check the materials of orchard registration and quarantine permit 3 times in advance.This year,the 8 tons of durian he imported only took 52 hours from port arrival to delivery to Taiyuan supermarkets,with the loss rate reduced to less than 5%.

III.Full Process Disassembly and Compliance Control of Southeast Asian Fruit Import

(I) Document Pre-audit Stage: Pass the First Access Check

Southeast Asian fruit import requires 3 more types of documents than ordinary goods: official phytosanitary certificate of the exporting country/region,orchard registration number certificate,packaging material declaration (wooden packaging must have heat treatment mark).Every detail of these documents may affect customs clearance.For example,the orchard registration number of Thai durian must be in the "List of Designated Orchards for Imported Fruits" updated by the General Administration of Customs in March 2026.Expired or wrong numbers will lead to direct return of goods.

Zhongshen’s document team will check the materials with customers 7 days before the goods are loaded.For example,when Manager Peng submitted the orchard registration number for the first time,the team found that the corresponding orchard had been removed from the list in October 2025,and promptly asked him to contact the Thai supplier to change the cooperative orchard,avoiding rejection of the whole batch of goods.

• Checkthequalificationoftheissuingauthorityofthequarantinecertificate(mustbetheofficialquarantinedepartmentoftheexportingcountry)
• Verifywhethertheregistrationnumberoftheorchard/packingplantisinthelatestlistoftheGeneralAdministrationofCustoms
• Confirmthatthefruitvariety,quantity,andplaceoforiginonthedocumentsareconsistentwiththebilloflading

(II) Port Customs Declaration Stage: Solve the "Connection Problem" of Inland Transshipment

Taiyuan has no direct seaport,so after fruits arrive at the port,they need to go through transshipment procedures at Tianjin Port/Qingdao Port first,and then be transported to Taiyuan by cold chain trucks.The biggest risk in this process is "transshipment declaration delay".If the transshipment declaration information is filled incorrectly during customs declaration,the cold chain truck will have to wait at the port,and fruits will easily go bad once the temperature fluctuates.

Zhongshen has permanent customs brokers at Tianjin Port,who can submit transshipment applications on the same day,and is connected to the customs "fast transshipment channel" to give priority to the review of perishable goods such as fruits.Last year,Mr.Fu,who imported mangosteen in Taiyuan,was stuck by the port customs because the "port of departure" on the transshipment declaration was filled as "Bangkok" while the actual port was Laem Chabang Port.Zhongshen’s customs broker helped him correct the information on the same day,coordinated the cold chain truck to wait at the port in advance,and delivered the mangosteen to Taiyuan’s cold chain warehouse within 24 hours.

(III) Commodity Inspection Stage: Control the "Last Mile of Safety"

After fruits arrive in Taiyuan,they need to accept on-site inspection by Shanxi Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau,focusing on 3 points: whether they carry quarantine pests (such as Thai fruit fly),whether pesticide residues exceed the standard,whether the packaging contains soil.If problems are found,the goods will be destroyed in mild cases,and import qualification will be suspended in severe cases.

Zhongshen will communicate with the quarantine department in advance to arrange the inspection time,and arrange special personnel to accompany the inspection.In March this year,for the Malaysian mangosteen imported by Manager Peng,the quarantine staff found that the packaging of one box was slightly damaged.Zhongshen’s accompanying staff coordinated to replace the packaging on site,avoiding the extension of the whole batch inspection.In addition,Zhongshen also provides "pre-testing service": before the goods arrive at the port,suppliers are required to provide third-party test reports to check pesticide residue problems in advance.

• Bookquarantineinspectiontimeinadvancetoavoidstoragedelay
• Accompanyon-siteinspectiontohandlesuddenproblems(suchaspackagingdamage)intime
• Assistinprovidingthird-partytestreportstoimproveinspectionpassrate

IV.Case: Zhongshen Helps Taiyuan Enterprises Avoid Return Risks

In February 2026,Mr.Shi from Taiyuan planned to import 15 tons of dragon fruit from Vietnam.He handled the import by himself once before,and the goods were returned at Qingdao Port because he did not notice that the "packing plant registration number" of Vietnamese dragon fruit had been updated,resulting in a loss of nearly 100,000 yuan.Later,Mr.Shi contacted Zhongshen,and the team did 3 things:

• CheckedtheorchardandpackingplantregistrationnumbersoftheVietnamesesupplier7daysinadvance,andconfirmedthattheywereinthelistupdatedbytheGeneralAdministrationofCustomsinJanuary2026;
• CoordinatedwiththecoldchainwarehouseatQingdaoPorttoreservespace,avoidingnostorageavailableafterthegoodsarrivedattheport;
• Arrangedcustomsbrokerstosubmitthetransshipmentapplicationonthesameday,anddeliveredthedragonfruittoTaiyuan’scoldchainwarehousewithin48hours.

Mr.Shi not only suffered no loss in this import,but also the freshness of the dragon fruit was much higher than before due to fast timeliness,and the order volume of supermarkets increased by 20% directly.

V.Summary: Professional Agency Makes Taiyuan Import Easier

Fruit importers in Taiyuan are most worried about three problems: delayed timeliness,wrong documents,and strict quarantine.In view of the import characteristics of inland cities,Zhongshen blocks the risk points of each link in advance: document pre-audit ensures access qualification,port transshipment solves connection problems,and accompanying commodity inspection controls safety.It can help enterprises reduce the import loss rate to less than 5% and shorten the customs clearance time by 40%.If you also want to import fruits from Southeast Asia,or encounter customs declaration problems,you may refer to these experiences.After all,an agency that can help you save time and reduce losses is really practical.