On October 10, inside the Mayang Lanfengguo Fruit Processing Plant in Yanmen Town, Mayang Miao Autonomous County, an intelligent sorting line was running at high speed, meticulously grading red-hearted kiwifruits by weight and size into different baskets before being repackaged and loaded for shipment. "This batch of kiwis is about to be exported—there’s no time to spare, so we’ve had to expedite the packing and loading process," said Lei Huaying, head of Mayang Lanfengguo Agricultural Development Co., Ltd.

Staff at the Mayang Lanfeng Fruit Processing Plant are packaging red-hearted kiwifruits.

Recently, Mayang’s red-hearted kiwifruits have entered their bountiful harvest season, with orchards spanning tens of thousands of mu across the county brimming with ripe, luscious fruits. Drawing on her successful experience exporting Mayang’s specialty products like yellow peaches and poultry eggs, Lei Huaying has quickly turned her attention to the highly sweet and nutrient-rich red-hearted kiwifruits, already plotting their export potential.

“Huaihua International Land Port has brought convenience to the export of mountainous region’s specialty agricultural products. This year, our ice-sugar oranges made a ‘trial run’ in Malaysia—and it was an absolute success! This achievement has boosted our confidence as we now move forward with opening up the international market for our red-hearted kiwifruits,” said Lei Huaying with full conviction. This time, she has prepared over 1,000 pieces of red-hearted kiwifruit, valued at 176,000 yuan, which will be shipped to Malaysia in the near future.

Besides the red-hearted kiwi fruit, Huaihua—known as "China's Hometown of Ice Sugar Oranges"—boasts a "sweet calling card": Mayang Ice Sugar Oranges, celebrated for their unique flavor and increasingly popular in overseas markets over recent years. In the first eight months of this year, the city exported fruits worth 56.176 million yuan, with destinations spanning Southeast Asia and other regions.

Changsha Customs officers inspect Maiyang poultry eggs at Huaihua Customs, which will be exported after passing the inspection. (Photo by Zhang Zhuo)

In response to the specific requirements for fruit exports, Huaihua Customs—under the jurisdiction of Changsha Customs—has vigorously implemented the "Smart Customs, Strong Nation" initiative. They established a dedicated "Aid-to-Farmers Export Task Force," led by the Customs Commissioner himself, to conduct in-depth field visits and surveys among businesses and farmers, identifying bottlenecks, pain points, and challenges in agricultural product exports. Leveraging the unique advantages of customs functions, the team has innovatively rolled out a series of reform measures: "guiding and registering one batch, providing free testing for another batch, and facilitating exports for a third batch." As a result, they have successfully registered 41 fruit and vegetable production bases, filed 12 fresh fruit packaging plants for export, and even helped recommend and register four orchards in Russia and Thailand.

In recent years, "longevity villages" have gained popularity in Hong Kong and Macao, China, thanks to their selenium-enriched eggs that boast exceptional quality. To maintain the freshness of these premium products, Huaihua Customs has introduced an "express mode" for specialty fresh agricultural goods, rolling out innovative measures such as "advance declaration," "fruit and vegetable assembly combined with centralized declaration," and direct supply initiatives. Additionally, the customs authority has implemented convenient services like a "green channel" for agricultural exports and 24/7 appointment-based clearance, reducing clearance times by nearly 30%. These efforts ensure the eggs retain their impeccable quality, allowing the "longevity code" to make a fresh, timely debut in these markets. Meanwhile, in collaboration with the tax authorities, Huaihua Customs has been actively addressing challenges related to export tax rebates for eggs, helping boost the city's fresh egg exports to 52.352 million yuan in the first eight months of this year—surpassing last year's figures by an impressive 12-fold increase.

"To accelerate the export of agricultural products, Huaihua Customs has leveraged its advantages in foreign trade data, conducting in-depth analyses of agricultural exports to ASEAN countries, Central Asia, and other key markets. This has helped enterprises connect with potential buyers, participate in overseas exhibitions, and guided more than 10 agricultural processing firms to shift from domestic sales supply to self-managed exports," said Wang Youhua, Director of Huaihua Customs, which is affiliated with Changsha Customs.

Additionally, leveraging the role of the agri-food product laboratory, we provide free sampling and monitoring services for agricultural residues, heavy metals, preservatives, and other parameters, ensuring that exported agricultural products meet international market准入 requirements. Over the past two years, we have conducted free tests on samples of yellow peaches, citrus fruits, vegetables, seasonings, and more, helping businesses save over 1.5 million yuan in testing costs.