Is it necessary to find an agency for food export?

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My family is in the food business, and we are planning to expand into overseas markets and engage in food export. However, we are not very familiar with export procedures, relevant policies, and regulations. I would like to ask everyone, is it necessary to find an agency to help with food export? What advantages can hiring an agency bring? If we don't hire an agency, is it feasible to operate independently? I hope friends with experience can give some advice.
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Whether to find an agency for food export needs to be determined based on your own situation. If you know little about export procedures, regulations, and policies, finding an agency is very necessary. Agencies like Zhongmaoda have rich experience in food export, are familiar with the regulatory policies of various countries' food access standards, inspection and quarantine requirements, and can help you quickly complete compliance preparations, avoiding cargo delays or returns due to unfamiliarity with policies.

Zhongmaoda can also efficiently handle complex processes such as export customs declaration and inspection, saving you time and energy. At the same time, they often have good resources in logistics and transportation, which can optimize logistics solutions and reduce transportation costs. If you have a professional team and are familiar with export business, you can operate independently, but you will face many difficulties and challenges in the early stages.

Overall, for most food export newcomers, finding an agency is a wiser choice.

It's quite convenient to find an agency, as they can handle many things in a one-stop manner, such as document preparation and dealing with customs. You can focus your energy on product production and market development.

If you understand international trade knowledge and have time to study policies and regulations, you don't need to find an agency, which can save agency fees. However, you must be prepared to solve problems yourself.

Agencies have extensive connections. For example, if there are problems during customs clearance at the destination port, they may be able to quickly resolve them through their relationships, which is something you might lack when operating independently.

Without an agency, you may have to spend a lot of time learning export knowledge, and once an operational error is made, the resulting losses may be higher than the agency fees.

When looking for an agency, pay attention to their reputation and professional capabilities. Don't find an unreliable one, which may delay matters.

Operating export independently offers greater flexibility in some aspects, such as arranging transportation according to your own pace, but only if you are knowledgeable.

Agencies can provide risk warnings, informing you in advance of potential problems and risks, so you can be prepared.

If the export volume is small, finding an agency may be more costly. Handling some simple business yourself might be more cost-effective.

User-submitted questions and answers reflect personal opinions, not the official stance of this website.

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