Since the designated supervision site for inbound fruits was put into use at the Mohan Railway Port in December 2022, the import volume of fruit freight trains via the China-Laos Railway has exceeded 40,000 tons, with a value of 988 million yuan, according to recent statistics from Yunnan International Railway Service and Trading Co., Ltd.

The China-Laos Railway offers transportation advantages such as faster delivery than sea freight, lower prices than air freight, and less loss compared to road transport. These characteristics make it the preferred choice for cross-border transportation of tropical fruits such as durians and mangosteens, providing a convenient and efficient channel for Southeast Asian tropical fruits to enter the large Chinese market. Currently, 1 to 2 special cold-chain trains of fruits operate on the China-Laos Railway daily.

China-Laos Railway: Comprehensively deepen the economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN countries

With the deep implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), China's economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN countries continues to deepen, with highly interconnected industrial and supply chains. China and ASEAN maintained a strong momentum as each other's largest trading partners in the first five months of 2023, according to customs data. 

As an international land artery connecting the Chinese and ASEAN markets, the China-Laos Railway provides a new logistics option for comprehensive economic and trade cooperation between the two regions. Tropical fruits such as durians and mangosteens from Laos and Thailand are transported directly to Kunming through cold chain transportation. Chinese fresh flowers, vegetables, textiles, and other goods are continuously shipped to Southeast Asian countries, achieving trade complementarity.

Over 4 million tons of cross-border goods worth more than 18 billion yuan have been transported via the China-Laos Railway up to now. Among them, Yunnan International Railway Service and Trading Co., Ltd. has transported 372,17 tons of cross-border goods worth 16.205 billion yuan via the China-Laos Railway.

Special Fruit Trains: Accelerating the import of tropical fruits

On June 27th, two special cold chain trains of fruits loaded with Thai durians and mangosteens arrived at the Kunming Wangjiaying West Container Center Station. It took only 26 hours to travel from Vientiane South Station in Laos to arrive in Kunming. And the fruits were quickly distributed and transferred to major fruit markets across the country after arrival. Such scenes have been happening every day recently.

Tropical fruits have a relatively short shelf life, and how to quickly transport them from their places of origin to the consumer market has always been a challenge in the logistics industry. Especially for durian, known as the "king of fruits," requires cold chain transportation at minus 18 degrees Celsius. The difference between arriving one day earlier or later significantly affects the quality, and there is also a significant difference in transportation costs.Since the opening of the fruit trains on the China-Laos Railway, the transportation time for Thai durians to Kunming has been reduced from 5-7 days to 3 days, significantly shortening the delivery time. The durians can now be picked at a ripeness level of 9, compared to the previous 7, resulting in improved taste and quality. Additionally, due to the stable nature of railway transportation, the loss during transit is relatively minimal, reducing the overall import costs. As a result, the market prices have also decreased significantly, with the lowest reaching over 20 yuan per kilogram. Some netizens have remarked, "Thanks to the China-Laos Railway, we have achieved durian freedom this year."

On December 6th, the first batch of Laotian bananas bound for China was loaded at the Vientiane South Railway Station in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. (Photo by Kaiqiao/Xinhua)

The China-Laos Railway has brought tangible benefits to Chinese consumers and Thai fruit farmers.

Train services: fill the air with the aroma of fruits along the China-Laos Railway 

Before the designated supervision site for inbound fruits at the Mohan Railway Port was established and put into use, Yunnan Province issued supporting policies and adopted a combined rail-road-rail customs clearance method to solve the problem of cross-border transport of Southeast Asian tropical fruits via the China-Laos railway. A total of 6,515 tons of fruits, valued at 103 million yuan, were transported. On December 3rd last year, after the designated supervision site for inbound fruits at the Mohan Railway Port was put into use, Yunnan International Railway Service and Trading Co., Ltd. immediately organized the first direct, special train of fruits on the China-Laos Railway, successfully testing the entire transportation and customs clearance process, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale fruit imports.

With strong support from the Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, the Yunnan Development and Reform Commission, China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd., Kunming Customs, and China United International Railway Containers Co., LTD., since this year, Yunnan International Railway Service and Trading Co., Ltd. has strengthened cooperation with domestic and foreign entities and actively explored the operation of the China-Laos-Thailand international railway intermodal cold-chain trains, continuously optimized the organization process and customs inspection measures for imported fruit transportation, and ensured the efficient and seamless operation of the entire process, achieving fast fruit transportation.

During the shipping stage, assistance is provided to customers in liaising with the Laos-China Railway Company in advance when the fruit was shipped from the place of origin, coordinating the transportation plan, and ensuring that Thai fruits are promptly shipped after arriving at the Vientiane South Station. Some fruits are also transported via the meter-gauge railway in Thailand to the Thanaleng Station in Laos to connect to the China-Laos Railway for the entire rail transportation process, compressing the waiting time for intermediate processes and improving transportation efficiency.

At the Mohan Railway Port, Kunming Customs has implemented convenient customs clearance measures such as "green channels," "preliminary document review," and "two-step declaration, centralized taxation," achieving "immediate inspection upon arrival" and "immediate release upon verification," greatly improving the customs clearance efficiency. After the goods arrive at the Wangjiaying West Station in Kunming, China United International Railway Containers Co., LTD. takes measures such as priority unloading and delivery and has set up container unloading facilities at the station, ensuring that fruits are distributed to fruit markets across the province and the country in a timely manner.

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(Editors: Lexi, Ines)