Smooth channels promote trade. Dongguan Port, as an important coastal port and hub of the comprehensive transportation system in the coastal area of Guangdong Province, is an important transit port for the transportation of energy, raw materials and supplies in the hinterland.
In recent years, Dongguan has focused on creating a new form of customs supervision services and activating new momentum for port foreign trade. According to statistics, the value of bulk cargo imported and exported through Dongguan Port increased by 26.03% year-on-year from January to September this year.
Dare to innovate and make logistics supervision more efficient
Recently, the CL AQABA vessel carrying 55,000 tons of imported petroleum coke slowly docked at the Phase II terminal of Dongguan Port.
As soon as the vessel arrives, she received customs clearance instruction and the goods were immediately picked up by barge and transported to the factory for production. Compared to the traditional mode of unloading into the yard and then being packing up, the new measures can save 2 days of loading and unloading for enterprises and reduce logistics costs by RMB 1.32 million. The efficient customs clearance of this batch of goods is a vivid portrayal of the innovative logistics combination measures implemented by Shatian Customs, including arrival inspection, unloading inspection and direct pickup beside vessels, which helps enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Shatian Customs has actively innovated the supervision mode in response to the difficulties of importing large quantities of petroleum coke, coal, industrial salt, steel, oversized equipment and other bulk commodities in the jurisdiction, such as large quantities, difficult loading and unloading, high losses, and high land transportation costs. Under the new supervision mode, after being inspected and released at the port, the imported bulk commodities can be picked up by barge and transported to factories for production, which greatly reduces the waiting time for vessels entering the port, as well as the loading and unloading times.
“The efficient logistics mode has put the import of bulk goods on the ‘fast lane’. The combined logistics measures will not only reduce the loss of goods during stacking and loading, greatly alleviating the operational difficulties of the terminal, but also save a lot of logistics and time costs for customers and shipping companies. It will enhance our market competitiveness,” said Li Dongfan, Assistant General Manager and Business Manager of the Phase II Terminal of Dongguan Port.
Relieve enterprises’ difficulties and optimize the business environment
Recently, the “Nangang 158” vessel loaded with more than 1,000 tons of imported bulk lead concentrate berthed at the Phase I terminal of Dongguan Port.
“The downstream smelters are in saturated production condition, and need innovation and breakthroughs in the dispatch and supply management of raw materials. Shatian Customs provides us with convenient measures such as clearance with appointment, immediate inspection, and ‘release first and inspection later’ to ensure timely and rapid customs clearance of raw materials. Especially for silver concentrate cargo, it can be picked up on the day of unloading, which fully meets the processing requirements of smelters for stable production, cost reduction and efficiency improvement,” said Hu Ziqian, head of the non-ferrous metal project of Hunan Caisheng International Trade Co., Ltd. He added, “From January to September this year, we have declared 34,900 tons of imported mineral products through Shatian Port, an increase of 3.56 times year-on-year.”
To continuously optimize the business environment, Shatian Customs has published 19 measures to support the development of maritime import and export after collecting the demands of enterprises all round. Key projects have been set up to follow up and implement the “timetable” and “roadmap”, which has effectively solved the practical problems for enterprises. In addition, Shatian Customs has guided enterprises to flexibly use preferential policies such as formula pricing and tax guarantee, “two-step declaration” as well as self-reporting and self-payment, in response to changes in the international market for bulk energy and mineral products. It has been continuously releasing reform dividends and reducing the burden and increasing efficiency for enterprises.
Expand channels for smoother foreign trade
Recently, the “Ningyuan Yong’an” vessel carrying 28 foreign trade containers and 476 domestic trade containers arrived at the Phase III terminal of Dongguan Port from Taicang Port in Jiangsu Province. After completing the customs clearance verification at Shatian Customs, the goods were exported by international liner to Haiphong, Vietnam.
“Using the same vessel for domestic and foreign trade eliminates the need for customers to declare and inspect goods in different locations through customs clearance verification, speeding up the flow of goods, and effectively reducing our logistics costs,” said Zeng Jingyuan, Deputy General Manager of the Phase III Container Terminal of Dongguan Port.
The promotion of using the same vessel for domestic and foreign trade will complement each other’s advantages between Dongguan Port and Ningbo Port as well as Dongguan Port and Taicang Port in terms of direction, schedule and transportation capacity of domestic and foreign trade routes, and achieve major strategic synergy between the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. From January to September this year, under the supervision of Shatian Customs, Dongguan Port has provided same-vessel services to 40 container vessels engaged in domestic and foreign trade between Dongguan Port and Ningbo Port as well as Dongguan Port and Taicang Port, transporting 518 TEUs of goods.
Meanwhile, Shatian Customs give great support to Dongguan Port for its new “point-to-point” direct route to the near sea. Since the beginning of this year, Dongguan Port has successively opened four near-sea routes, including the “Dongguan Port-Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam” route, the “Dongguan Port-Laem Chabang, Thailand” fruit express line, the “Sulawesi, Indonesia-Dongguan Port” import line, and the “Dongguan Port-Tanjung Brussels Port, Malaysia” container liner route, restarting the chartered vessel services for enterprises to export directly, and further broadening the maritime collection and distribution network.
Going forward, Shatin Customs will give full play to the pioneering spirit of grassroots customs and continue to optimize the port business environment, aiming to achieve smoother water transport circulation channels, and faster logistics turnover. Eventually, new momentum will be activated for the high-quality development of foreign trade.
