A view of Shekou Port on Tuesday. Courtesy of Shenzhen Customs
A total of 59 containers holding household appliances, like microwave ovens and air conditioners, were shipped out Tuesday from Beijiao Port in Shunde, Foshan City, and are expected to embark on oceanic vessels at Shekou Port in Shenzhen.
The cargo will not be going through the previously required second customs check, as it is now under a combined port service program.
The combined customs services between Shekou Port and Beijiao Port are now a part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Combined Port Project.
The project enables river and sea ports, under different customs administrations, to share codes and be dispatched without delays.
Due to the river and bridge restriction, oceanic vessels are not allowed to enter ports along the Pearl River estuary. The cargo, therefore, needs to be delivered out through barges to the Shenzhen western port terminals for oceanic transportation. Formalities such as these cost a considerable amount of time.
Another example of port service combination was launched November last year between Shekou Port and Shunde Xingang Port. Products in Shunde, after completing customs procedures, can now be directly sent to Shekou Port.
The combined service saves 30 percent on costs for customs declaration processes. According to Shenzhen Customs, 70 percent of the containers from Shunde Xingang Port to Shenzhen western port area have chosen the combined service option.
Shenzhen Customs has estimated around 90,000 containers will go through imports and exports clearance under the Shekou-Beijiao combined port service mechanism each year.
Shenzhen Customs has plans for expanding the combined port program in the Greater Bay Area and applying blockchain, IoT and 5G technologies to the program.
Ports in Shenzhen have seen a significant increase in container imports and exports since this time last year. In the first two months of this year, shipments increased by 37.41 percent, or 4.80 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), statistics from Shenzhen Office of Port of Entry and Exit on Tuesday showed. By the end of February, the container throughput at Shenzhen eastern port area had been nonstop growing for nine months straight.
The western port area has successfully opened transportation service for multimodal sea-land international freight trains and the Shenzhen-Zhanjiang foreign trade spur line. The measures will continue to improve efficiency, better turnovers in cargo delivery, lower costs, reduce inventory and shorten wait times for customs clearance.