On June 20, international postal packages were transported to Ningbo after customs supervision was completed by Yiwu’s International Mail Exchange Bureau. A total of 76 parcels, weighing nearly one ton, together with postal packages from other parts of Zhejiang Province were shipped from Ningbo Port in Zhejiang to the Yokohama Port in Japan. This marks the first time for Zhejiang Province to carry out the concentrated maritime shipping of postal packages.

Continuous economic development has increased demand for the transportation of packages. In the past, Yiwu’s postal packages were transported via existing postal routes and went through several exchange bureaus. Then, they were sent to Shanghai to be transported abroad. Packaging and shipping consumed a lot of time and the comprehensive freight rate was high. Under the new mode, postal packages from all over the province are transported directly to Ningbo after customs supervision, and the postal packages from Yiwu’s International Mail Exchange Bureau are transferred directly to Ningbo, which is a newly established channel for postal packages to be shipped abroad. It only takes 3-5 days for the postal packages to be packed into containers and transported through concentrated shipping. The journey from Ningbo Port to Yokohama Port takes 5-6 days. The new method effectively reduces the cost of mail transportation.

According to Xu Xiao’ou from the Mail Supervision Section of Yiwu Customs, the comprehensive ocean freight rate for mail transportation is 30% of that of air transport. In addition, ocean freight has higher transport capacity and allows for a more diverse arrangement of shipped items, but it takes more time than air freight does. The new mode of consolidated shipping reduces the overall time and improves customer experience.

To facilitate the operation of the new mode, Yiwu Customs has carried out regular research among companies. After learning about the increasing shipment needs of Yiwu companies, Yiwu Customs took the initiative to contact Ningbo Customs to reach a cooperation on the transfer of international postal packages from Hangzhou and Wenzhou to Ningbo. They effectively opened a channel for the transfer of postal packages among different customs. Moreover, Yiwu Customs strengthened its contact and cooperation with the Ningbo Post Office branch of Ningbo Customs. In addition to completing the handling of incoming packages daily, the post office provide a 24/7 reservation service for customs clearance, while implementing inspection on the packages and releasing packages immediately after the loading is complete. All these ensure smooth customs clearance and efficient supervision of postal packages. (By Wu Fengyu – Yiwu Business Daily, translated by Jin Haiqiong, edited by Daniel Haws)