Hainan lychees are currently in the peak harvesting season. It has been observed that export orders for Hainan lychees have been increasing significantly this year. To expedite their journey overseas, a coordinated effort has been initiated right from the orchards. In a lychee orchard in Sanmenpo Town, Haikou, workers move through the trees, carefully picking ripe fruit. Nearly 90% of the produce from this 200-acre orchard is destined for export. To harvest the fruit at its optimal quality, workers have been putting in nearly ten hours daily since late April. Farm manager Li Shanliang noted that a new sorting facility near the orchard has become operational this year. Lychees now reach the sorting point within an hour of picking, cutting the previous transit time by 1.5 hours. Concurrently, samples can be sent for inspection directly from the sorting site. Cai Fudai, an inspector from the Sanmenpo Town Agricultural Service Center, explained that test results are available within 30 minutes. Once the data is uploaded to the provincial system, refrigerated trucks can proceed to the Xinhaigang port. After electronic verification, the shipment quickly departs the island. Currently, a portion of Hainan's lychee exports are first transported to Guangdong for packaging before being shipped overseas via cargo vessels. Through a series of efficiency-boosting steps—including pre-sorting, rapid inspection, and data integration—the process from picking lychees in Haikou to loading them onto cargo ships in Shenzhen now averages under 24 hours.
Multiple Free Trade Port Initiatives Boost Lychee Export Speed According to Haikou Customs statistics, from the start of the lychee harvest to May 6th, Hainan has exported lychees in 110 batches, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 40%. Despite recent high temperatures and drought conditions in Hainan, why has lychee export growth accelerated this year? Further observations provide insight. At a packaging facility, qualified lychees are sorted by size using machines. After being rinsed in pre-cooled water, they are moved to cold storage for subsequent packaging and storage. Orchard manager Zheng Xuezhi stated that his 400-acre farm exports about 10% of its output, primarily to Italy and Canada. Having started the lychee export business two years ago, he has seen continuous expansion in Hainan's sea and air freight routes alongside the accelerated development of the free trade port. To better tap into broader international markets, he plans to increase investment and expand operations this year. "Next, we will invest in a new packaging plant to access markets in the UK, the US, and Australia," Zheng Xuezhi said. To further enhance export efficiency, Haikou Customs has utilized the Hainan International Trade Single Window to streamline the process for issuing inspection and quarantine certificates for lychees and other specialty agricultural products. This enables online application, review, and electronic issuance, creating a fully digital, closed-loop system with "cloud-issued" certificates. Additionally, customs authorities guide farmers in establishing a traceable and queryable chain covering the entire process from cultivation and production to harvesting, storage, and transportation. This ensures compliance and quality control from the source. A Haikou Customs official explained that by combining document review with on-site inspections—including the option for remote inspections—processing times have been significantly reduced. The comprehensive adoption of paperless processing for inspection and quarantine certificates has cut the overall inspection and certification time by over 70%.
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