Focus on revival sparks change

The authorities also took several measures to speed up the registration of enterprises for exporting agricultural products during the pandemic.

Cicheng town in Ningbo has a long history of cultivating nursery grown plants. The cultivated area exceeds 667 hectares, making it the largest export center of such plants in Zhejiang province.

It boasts nearly 100 exported varieties, such as yacca and azalea, and exported an average of 100,000 pots annually, mainly to European countries including the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.

Affected by the pandemic, the number of workers at companies that export such plants reduced sharply.

It meant that signed orders could not be fulfilled, a big problem for plantations.

Ningbo Customs has launched several innovative measures to aid quarantine and clearance for companies. They also examined the facilities of some companies and guided them to monitor, prevent and control plant diseases and insect pests.

Companies were helped to tag each plant with information such as a batch number and the variety for tracing the source, if necessary. Strengthened on-site quarantine and sampling examination also ensures the plants' quality.

Ningbo also boasts many other speciality agricultural products, such as waxberry from Cixi, juicy peaches from Fenghua and citrus fruits from Xiangshan.

Ningbo Customs made serving the export of local agricultural products an important measure to help rural revitalization and make farmers become richer. They trained related companies, implemented pest and security control and shared testing resources with local governments.

Customs officials said they will continue animals and plants quarantine, enhance technical support and improve the port's business environment.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn