As an important processing base for aquatic products and agricultural by-products in northern China,Weihai’s food import and export trading enterprises are facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges in 2026.With the in-depth implementation of the RCEP policy and the continuous improvement of food safety standards in the international market,it is difficult to maintain competitiveness solely by relying on price advantages.Through long-term industry observation,Manager Gao found that many local food enterprises in Weihai have strong strength in production and processing links,but their profits are often invisibly eroded in the process of delivering products to overseas customers due to insufficient control over key links such as customs declaration,inspection declaration,logistics timeliness and foreign exchange settlement.Building an efficient,compliant and low-risk foreign trade chain has become the key for Weihai food import and export trading enterprises to improve their core competitiveness.This paper will systematically sort out the whole process and analyze the value of professional agency institutions in this process.

Pre-preparation: Qualification Filing and Document Compliance Review

For food export,this stage is the cornerstone of the entire trade.Before export,frozen seafood,peanut products,fruit and vegetable products from Weihai must meet the official access standards of the destination country.The core goal of this stage is to complete the compliance filing of enterprises and products,and ensure the accuracy and consistency of all accompanying documents.

Key actions mainly include confirming exporter filing,health registration of production enterprise filing,and test reports for specific products.Manager Gao pointed out that in 2026,customs will implement stricter source control over exported food,so enterprises need to prepare raw material acceptance records,production and processing records,and factory inspection reports in advance.In addition,Chinese labels and their corresponding foreign language translations must be accurate,and details such as allergen information and additive use standards must strictly comply with the regulations of the importing country.

Common problems in this link include inaccurate translation of label ingredients,expired health certificates and improper HS code classification.Incorrect HS code declaration will not only lead to a sharp rise in inspection rate,but also may cause risks of return or fine.Zhongshen will intervene in advance at this stage,assist enterprises to check HS codes with professional databases,and organize an expert team to pre-review labels to ensure that declaration elements fully match the actual goods,so as to reduce the probability of customs inspection from the source.

List of Core Documents for Food Export

• RegistrationFormforExporter/ProductionEnterpriseFiling
• ProductTestReport(complyingwithstandardsoftheimportingcountry)
• CertificateofOrigin(preferentialcertificateoforiginsuchasFORME)
• ChineseandEnglishLabelsandCorrespondingTranslationReviewConfirmationLetter
• FoodHygieneSupervisionandInspectionCertificate

Mid-term Implementation: Connection Between Customs Declaration,Inspection Declaration and International Logistics

When the documents are ready,the trade enters the substantive logistics and customs clearance stage.Most of Weihai’s food import and export trading enterprises involve cold chain logistics,which has extremely high requirements for temperature control and timeliness.The goal of this stage is to complete customs clearance and ship the goods as quickly as possible on the premise of ensuring the quality of the goods.

Key actions include sending electronic customs declaration data to the customs,arranging cold chain vehicle or container transportation,and cooperating with the customs for inspection.In 2026,with the promotion of the "two-step declaration" model,enterprises can first submit a summary declaration after obtaining the bill of lading,and then submit a complete declaration after the goods arrive at the port,which greatly improves customs clearance efficiency.However,this requires operators to be very familiar with the system and able to fill in declaration items accurately.

Common problems include cargo deterioration caused by abnormal container temperature control,inconsistency between customs declaration form data and accompanying documents,and missing shipping schedules due to overlong inspection time.For frozen aquatic products,every hour of detention may cause irreversible losses.Relying on 20 years of in-depth industry experience,Zhongshen maintains close cooperation with major shipping companies and ports.In the customs declaration link,we adopt pre-classification and standardized declaration services to improve customs clearance speed; in the logistics link,we provide full-process cold chain monitoring services to track the container temperature in real time,ensuring that Weihai’s fresh products can clear customs and go to sea as quickly as possible to guarantee the freshness of the goods.

Post-phase Closing: Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment and Export Tax Refund Management

The closed loop of trade lies in the safe return of funds and maximization of profits.Foreign exchange market fluctuations still exist in 2026,and exchange rate risks directly affect the final income of enterprises.The core goals of this stage are to receive foreign exchange safely,purchase foreign exchange in compliance with regulations,and complete export tax refund declaration efficiently,so as to convert policy dividends into enterprise cash flow.

Key actions include urging payment after goods are dispatched,settling foreign exchange through formal channels,collecting and sorting out tax refund documents for declaration.Enterprises need to complete foreign exchange verification and cancellation within the specified time limit,otherwise it will affect subsequent export tax refunds.In tax refund declaration,it is necessary to ensure that the customs declaration form,value-added tax invoice and export invoice are consistent.

Common problems include profit erosion caused by exchange rate fluctuations,long-term capital occupation caused by tax refund letter verification,and doubts caused by non-standard invoice issuance.Many enterprises fail to receive tax refunds for a long time because their financial staff do not have a thorough understanding of tax refund policies.Zhongshen provides a safe foreign exchange receipt and payment channel at this stage,and uses professional financial tools to help enterprises avoid exchange rate risks.In terms of tax refund,we have a complete document collection and review system,which can quickly handle abnormal situations,accelerate the return of tax refund funds,and effectively relieve the capital pressure of enterprises.

Comparative Analysis of Independent Operation and Agency Service

To show the value of professional agency services more intuitively,we conduct a multi-dimensional comparison between independent operation of Weihai food import and export trading enterprises and entrusting Zhongshen as the agency:

Conclusion

Against the complex and changing international trade environment in 2026,if Weihai food import and export trading enterprises want to gain a firm foothold in the fierce market competition,they must shift from pure product competition to competition of comprehensive supply chain efficiency.From the rigor of qualification filing,to the timeliness of logistics and customs clearance,and to the security of capital settlement,no link can be ignored.Through full-process,one-stop agency services,Zhongshen organically integrates scattered links,which not only helps customers avoid potential compliance risks,but also significantly improves overall operation efficiency through professional operations.Choosing a professional partner like Zhongshen,which has been deeply engaged in the industry for more than 20 years,allows Weihai’s food enterprises to focus more on product R&D and production,so as to develop more steadily and further in overseas markets.