The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Zhuhai Port handled a total import and export cargo volume worth 489.73 billion yuan ($67.02 billion) as of September 2022 since it began operations on Oct 24, 2018, according to statistics from Gongbei Customs.
The innovative "single window" international trade platform services applied at HZMB Zhuhai Port allow enterprises to make declarations in advance, while trucks loaded with cargo will go through automatic inspection under the one-stop inspection system upon arrival at the port, enabling the whole process to be completed within five minutes.
Zhuhai Yirong Supply Chain was among the first batch of enterprises to enjoy this convenient service. Jin Fengjun, the person in charge of the enterprise, noted that the optimization of customs inspection processes has saved the company a large amount of time.
The total import and export cargo volume handled by the port in the first nine months of 2022 expanded by 82.4 percent to 191.45 billion yuan ($26.22 billion), surpassing the 2021 total. Its monthly import and export cargo volume has maintained a double-digit growth for nine consecutive months, with the highest growth recorded being 277.2 percent.
Two customs staff members inspect products [Photo courtesy Nanfang Plus]
Currently, more than 99.9 percent of the cargo to cross the border at the port has applied the "advanced declaration" process. In addition, several convenient measures among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have been put into operation to significantly shorten customs clearance time.
During the January-September period, the overall customs clearance time for export and import cargo stood at 36 seconds and 42 minutes respectively, both being more than 80 percent shorter than that in 2018.
The destinations of cargo exported from or imported to via the port have now covered 31 mainland provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China, as well as 231 overseas countries and regions.
Local customs have been devoting continuous efforts to optimizing inspection models as more than 50 percent of the cargo handled by the port are hi-tech products. Liu Yanjun, deputy director of HZMB Customs, said that non-intrusive inspection using H986 and X-ray machines can avoid excessive unloading and opening, increasing inspection efficiency and lowering costs for enterprises.
The HZMB has been a new direct transportation route for frozen poultry meat from the Chinese mainland to reach the Hong Kong market since June 22, with special service counters and green channels opened to provide 24/7 customs clearance reservation and priority check services.
Zhang Song, a local customs staff member, said that many aquatic enterprises choose to export their products in the small hours and the customs offers priority inspection to ensure the products reach the morning market at Hong Kong supermarkets and farmers' markets.
In the first nine months of 2022, HZMB Customs inspected 47,000 metric tons of aquatic products worth 2.28 billion yuan ($312.03 million), increasing by 187.1 percent and 106.1 percent respectively year-on-year.
Being adjacent to agricultural breeding and production bases in Zhongshan, Yangjiang, as well as Zhanjiang, the HZMB has also become a major passage transporting consumer goods to Hong Kong and Macao.
Source: Cityofzhuhai.com
