On November 14, ourreporter learned from Zhengzhou Airport Customs (ZAC) under Zhengzhou Customs that on November 12, Zhengzhou Airport Port (ZAP) handled 52 batches of imported fresh goods with the total weight exceeding 180 tons, setting a new historical high for single-day fresh imports.
Since the beginning of this year, ZAP's fresh cold chain business has maintained a strong growth momentum, becoming an "accelerator" for freight growth. According to statistics from ZAC, as of the end of October, ZAP's total import volume of fresh goods exceeded 16,600 tons, a year-on-year increase of 208%, covering major categories such as fruits, chilled aquatic products, and edible aquatic animals. Specifically, fruit imports reached nearly 5,000 tons, up 148% year-on-year, while chilled aquatic product imports exceeded 8,000 tons, surging about 15 times year-on-year.
The increasingly "booming" import situation is attributed to the robust support of the fresh goods guarantee system.
It is understood that ZAC has focused on the key points of "freshness preservation" and "timeliness", making targeted efforts to enhance service efficiency. It has opened a "green channel" for fresh goods clearance, deepened coordination and linkage with relevant port departments, and fully leveraged the advantages of "integrated" guarantee for cargo tallying, storage, and inspection at designated supervision sites. It has actively promoted intelligent supervision measures such as "smart approval" and "smart certificate verification", and continuously optimized the customs clearance process through models like "advance declaration" and "conditional release". It has implemented a 24/7 appointment-based customs clearance mechanism, continuously reducing the time for port operations, inspections, and testing. With efficient and convenient customs clearance services, it has continuously attracted global fresh goods to gather at ZAP, injecting strong impetus into the high-quality development of fresh trade.
The changes are "visible to the naked eye". Chilled salmon from Norway can now travel from the Atlantic fishing grounds to the domestic market in as little as 24 hours, with freshness improved by 30% compared with previous years, making ZAP an important salmon distribution center in central China.
With effective "freshness preservation" measures for imported fresh goods, overseas sources have "come unsolicited". Live Philippine eels, Thai rambutans, Norwegian king crabs... Fresh goods that previously needed to transit through Guangzhou or Shanghai are now choosing direct flights to Henan. Since 2021, the variety of ZAP's imported fresh goods has increased from 9 to 34 types, with sources covering more than 20 countries and regions around the world. Notably, on August 25 last year, the first "Kuala Lumpur-Zhengzhou" fresh durian charter flight successfully landed in Henan, marking the first entry of Malaysian fresh durians into the Chinese market and enriching the "fruit plates" of people in the Central Plains.
"Taking the fresh cold chain as a breakthrough, ZAP has continuously expanded its international freight network," said Ji Dakai, Senior Commissioner for Port Economyat the Port Administration of Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone. Since the beginning of this year, ZAP has newly introduced nine renowned cargo airlines including Mexico's Awesome Airlines, and launched 16 new cargo routes such as Zhengzhou-Madrid and Zhengzhou-Riyadh. As of the end of October, ZAP has gathered 36 all-cargo airlines, operating 68 all-cargo aircraft routes connecting 32 countries. During peak periods, an all-cargo aircraft takes off or lands every 20 minutes on average, with a single-aircraft guarantee duration of no more than 3 hours, placingits multi-aircraft simultaneous handling capability at the forefront.
The improvement of the route network and the enhancement of guarantee capabilities have driven the continuous growth of international freight volume. On November 3, ZAP's cumulative freight volume this year reached 825,200 tons, exceeding the total freight volume of last year 58 days ahead of schedule, a year-on-year increase of 24.76%. (Source: Henan Daily Reporters: Yang Ling and Zhao Tongzeng Correspondents: Zhang Tong and Liu Qing Translator: Hong Jianyuan)
