Chilean Cherries Enjoy Fast-Track Preferential Import via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge（Nov 2）

Chilean Cherries Enjoy Fast-Track Preferential Import via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

On October 28, the Gongbei Customs under the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs cleared a batch of fresh Black Diamond cherries imported from Chile, weighing approximately 2.5 tons with a cargo value of nearly 450,000 yuan.

"Chilean cherries have become widely popular in China in recent years. In particular, under the China-Chile Free Trade Agreement, they can enjoy zero tariffs, which significantly reduces import costs for enterprises," said Fang Jiayi, General Manager of Shenzhen Ouheng Import and Export Co., Ltd., the importer of this batch of cherries. This batch represents a small-volume pioneer shipment, and as the new cherry season kicks off, imports will continue.

This batch marks the first Chilean cherries imported this year via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge "Air-Land Fresh Product Express Line," with the journey from harvest to consumer taking as little as 48 hours. Since the full launch of the "Air-Land Fresh Product Express Line" in September 2025 through the present, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Customs has cumulatively supervised and cleared 111 batches of fruits, edible aquatic animals, and chilled aquatic products imported via the express line, totaling 348.3 tons with a cargo value of 22.478 million yuan.

It is understood that on November 18, 2025, Gongbei Customs and Hong Kong Customs signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Inspection and Quarantine Supervision of Transit Inbound Air-Transported Fruits, creating a new model of cross-boundary customs supervision cooperation. This opened a "fast lane" for the import of fresh fruits and other perishable products, enabling more preferential trade agreement products to achieve fast entry and fast preferential treatment. In 2025 alone, Gongbei Customs newly added Chilean cherry imports under the China-Chile FTA, with preferential cargo value approaching 12 million yuan and tax reductions exceeding 1.3 million yuan.

The China-Chile Free Trade Agreement is the first FTA signed between China and a Latin American country, and this year marks its 20th anniversary of implementation. According to Gongbei Customs statistics, from January to September this year, the customs cumulatively cleared imported goods under the China-Chile FTA exceeding 22.9 million yuan, up 47.8% year-on-year. Under the favorable trend of increasing both imports and exports under the China-Chile FTA, Chilean cherry imports this year are expected to see new growth.