Zhejiang's Shine Muscat grapes make first export to Belgium

A batch of 30 boxes of Shine Muscat grapes weighing 150 kilograms from Cixi city, Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, was exported to Belgium on Sept 10 after clearing customs inspection, marking Zhejiang's first export of fresh grapes to the country.

Cixi's unique coastal saline-alkali soil gives the grapes a balanced sugar-acid ratio, firm flesh and a distinctive flavor.

To facilitate the export, Cixi Customs provided guidance on EU quarantine requirements and pesticide residue limits, carried out advance risk monitoring and assisted the farm in meeting relevant standards. Given the short shelf life of grapes, customs also opened a green channel for locally inspected fresh and perishable agricultural products, offering priority and appointment-based inspections to minimize clearance time.

"The customs assistance not only ensured that the grapes could reach overseas customers at their best quality, but also gave customers greater confidence in the stability of our supply, laying a solid foundation for long-term cooperation," said Wu Kaibo, head of the Cixi fruit and vegetable farm that supplied the grapes exported to Belgium.

According to statistics, from January to August this year, Cixi Customs supervised the export of 19.6 metric tons of fresh grapes, valued at 273,000 yuan (about $40,400).