Local officials took measures at once, helping the company prepare the required documents and speed up the review process.

As a result, the inspection of soybeans was completed within one day.

After the clearance, Ningbo Customs contacted the customs service at the goods destination to ensure smooth cross-customs transportation for the company.

Customs officers also helped the business apply for fee remission.

"I would like to express my appreciation for Ningbo Customs' great support and help for our company," said the company's head surnamed Hu.

"Their effective services saved us from financial losses of millions of yuan," Hu added.

To further enhance the efficiency of customs clearance, Ningbo Customs has built 10 primary screening rooms for pest detection at ports.

In the past, plants and agricultural products with risks were sent to a designated laboratory and it took importers much time waiting for test results.

But now testing can be completed on-site so that importers can receive their goods in a shorter time, said officials from Ningbo Customs.

In the future, customs will develop an array of standards for the clearance time of plants and animals.

The standardized time will be set based on bulk data about the five key phases of customs clearance including the declaration, enterprises' preparation and laboratory tests.

Once the standards come into use, the customs clearance efficiency of agricultural products will rise by 30-85 percent, according to Ningbo Customs.

From January to October, 12,000 batches of agricultural products were imported through the Port of Ningbo. They were valued at 8.04 billion yuan ($1.23 billion) in total, up about 1.7 percent year-on-year.

zhanglinwan@chinadaily.com.cn