Imported Seafood Customs Clearance Slow? You Might Have Stepped Into These Three Minefields

At three in the morning in Changzhou Lingjiatang Market, a cargo plane carrying chilled salmon from Norway has just landed. Mr. Du stares at the customs declaration status on his phone, which hasn't updated for a long time, and fine sweat beads appear on his forehead—if this shipment cannot clear customs before noon, the client's high-end Japanese restaurant will face a supply crisis. "For aquatic product import customs declaration, racing against time is the norm." Such scenes unfold daily in the logistics hub of the Yangtze River Delta.

The "Race Against Time" for Live Aquatic Products

Unlike ordinary goods, aquatic product customs declaration faces three fatal difficulties:

• Timeliness: The survival rate of Canadian lobster decreases by 3% for every hour of delay
• Complexity of Documents: Seven types of documents are required simultaneously, including health certificates, certificates of origin, and fishing permits
• Cold Chain Supervision: The entire transportation process requires a traceable temperature range of -18°C to 4°C

Last year, during an import of Chilean king crab, Mr. Du was unable to provide the fishing area certificate, causing the entire container to be detained at the port for 5 days, resulting in direct losses exceeding 200,000 yuan.

Five Safety Valves of Professional Agents

The Zhongmaoda customs declaration team has summarized the key operational procedures:

• Pre-examination stage: Verify HS codes and the latest quarantine list (6 new restricted species added in the 2024 edition)
• Label compliance: Chinese and foreign language labels must include 12 elements such as fishing date and sea area coordinates
• Risk pre-inspection: Prior declaration through the customs AEO system can shorten inspection time by 50%
• Emergency channel: Live products can apply for a "green channel" for priority processing
• Tariff planning: Under the RCEP agreement, tariffs on some seafood have been reduced to 0

Intelligent Customs Declaration in the Cold Chain Era

With the commissioning of the designated chilled import port at Changzhou Airport, real-time transport temperature and humidity data can now be transmitted back via IoT devices. During a previous import of Japanese bluefin tuna, the intelligent temperature control system automatically triggered an alarm, and the agent immediately adjusted the refrigeration unit parameters remotely, avoiding a cargo loss worth 800,000 yuan. "Technology is rewriting the rules of the traditional customs declaration game", but the pursuit of perfection in details remains unchanged.

Is Your Seafood Supply Chain "Pressure-Resistant" Enough?

When consumers enjoy a sashimi platter in a restaurant, few realize the customs declaration battle being waged behind the scenes against time. Welcome to share your aquatic product customs clearance challenges in the comment section, or send a private message to obtain the Yangtze River Delta Aquatic Product Import White Paper. After all, in the tough battle of fresh trade, "speed" is not an advantage, but the baseline.