The Xiamen Airport. [Photo/mn.sina.com.cn]
Nearly two metric tons of fresh-frozen brown-marbled grouper and other fresh-frozen aquatic products recently arrived at Xiamen Gaoqi Airport from Indonesia where they were unloaded, sorted in the inspection area, and quickly cleared by the airport customs.
The entire process did not require an appointment or company to be present — marking the first shipment of goods to be cleared after the pilot implementation of the "off-airport sorting and inspection, no appointment, and no on-site inspection" model for fresh-frozen aquatic products at Xiamen Airport.
Under this model, when customs inspects goods, the consignees or their agents for import and export goods do not need to be present for the inspection.
Imported fresh-frozen aquatic products that have undergone advance customs declaration are directly sorted at the Airport Cargo Terminal upon arrival, and after confirming compliance with inspection requirements, the staff, in cooperation with customs inspection officers, carry out the inspection. The relevant operational information is displayed in real-time to the public.
The turnover efficiency of fresh-frozen aquatic products at the airport has increased by 25 percent. Additionally, for each shipment, up to 100 yuan ($13.9) can be saved in accompanying inspection agent fees.
Xiamen Airport is a key channel for the import of fresh-frozen aquatic products along the southeast coast of China, which has implemented a number of measures to support the safe and efficient customs clearance of fresh-frozen aquatic products.