A vessel named Xin Shanghai arrived at Shanghai's Yangshan Port on Dec 18 after a 23-day journey from Peru's Chancay Port, becoming the first one to arrive in Shanghai from the Peruvian Port since its opening in November. The journey also marked the opening of a two-way operational sea link between Shanghai and Chancay Port.

Xin Shanghai is berthed at the Yangshan Port in Shanghai's Lin-gang Special Area. [Photo/IC]

Under the guidance of Yangshan Customs, the clearance for the goods on the vessel was completed through the China (Shanghai) International Trade Single Window on Dec 17, one day ahead of arrival.

The cargo making the voyage includes a variety of Peruvian fruits with high customs clearance requirements, such as blueberries, avocados, grapes, and mangos. During the clearance process, an agent input and uploaded all required information through the Single Window.

Xin Shanghai unloads its containers. [Photo/IC]

After receiving the customs declaration data, the customs officer immediately reviewed and accepted the accurate, relevant information. The entire process from reception to completion took only 5 minutes.

In order to further enhance trade facilitation, Shanghai Customs encourages foreign trade enterprises to declare and transmit information such as manifests before goods arrive to port on a voluntary basis.

Currently, over 50 percent of goods imported by sea within the Shanghai Customs area are declared in advance. Clearance time for goods with high requirements, such as cross-border e-commerce and fresh products, are further cut.

Shanghai's trade with Peru has deepened, with a 21.2 percent year-on-year increase in total trade value, reaching 46.89 billion yuan ($6.42 billion) during the first 11 months of this year. Imports of Peruvian fruits and agricultural products through Shanghai ports rose by 23 percent year-on-year to 4.41 billion yuan.