Since the beginning of this year, Rongcheng City has actively implemented precise policies based on the needs of foreign trade companies, continued to make efforts in policy promotion, customs clearance guarantees and corporate rescue, and continued to promote Rongcheng’s high-quality products to “break the waves and go overseas”, achieving steady growth in exports.
In Weihai Qidong Haitong Cold Chain Logistics Co., Ltd., Wang Junlong, who has been processing squid for more than ten years, told reporters that the word he felt most deeply this year was “fast”.
In the workshop, orders are filled more fully, production lines are turning tighter, and the pace of shipments is significantly accelerated. In addition to being faster, products have also become more segmented.
Wang Junlong, production manager of Weihai Qidong Haitong Cold Chain Logistics Co., Ltd., said: “Customers want standardized and customized products. Different countries have different national standards and have different requirements. For example, European and American customers require squid to taste better, while Japanese customers have stricter control over microbial indicators and additives. We are required to sort out key control points to meet the segmentation requirements of different markets.”
Behind the changes is a direct reflection of market pressure.
Competition in the global squid processing industry is intensifying, and the profits of the traditional volume-based model are getting thinner and thinner.
But how?
What will it turn into?
Enterprises have their own weight in mind.
Wang Dezhi, sales manager of Weihai Qidong Haitong Cold Chain Logistics Co., Ltd., said: “We are not simply selling raw materials, but selling processing and quality. In the first quarter of this year, the company’s export orders increased by more than 20% year-on-year, and the proportion of high value-added prepared foods increased significantly.”
The surge in orders is testing not only production capacity, but also compliance capabilities.
In response to the common problem faced by squid companies regarding differences in exporting country standards, Rongcheng Customs took the initiative to provide services in advance, from the purchase and acceptance of raw materials and auxiliary materials, to the prevention and control of cross-contamination of production tools and equipment, to the temperature control of warehousing and transportation, to identify risk points one by one.
In the first two months of this year, Rongcheng City exported 19,400 tons of squid and its products, with a value of more than 500 million yuan. The products were exported to 62 countries and regions, and there was not a single return shipment due to quality problems.
Lin Jiahui, a member of the Rongcheng Customs Inspection Section, said: “Traditional processing does not mean a sunset industry. What we help companies do is ‘intensive farming’ and treat every order as a quality inspection. We guide companies to establish fully traceable production records, and companies are now able to actively benchmark against the standards of leading international purchasers.”
These “efficiency”-centered services are also gradually being rolled out in the pet food field, but the difference lies in the shift from customs clearance speed to the speed of information acquisition.
Rongcheng Virta Pet Food Co., Ltd. is a foreign trade enterprise born out of the traditional aquatic product processing sector. It only started exporting pet food in batches last year.
The company started late, but its starting point is not low. They are targeting mid-to-high-end pet dry food made from chicken, duck, and beef, focusing on high-protein formulas.
Liu Chuanjin, production manager of Rongcheng Virta Pet Food Co., Ltd., said: “We have launched more than 80 types of products, which are currently selling well in European and American markets. Taking advantage of this wave of popularity, we are also preparing to launch high-end pet foods using deep-sea fish as raw materials to further extend the industrial chain and improve the product matrix.”
The road to transformation is not easy.
Last year, before the company’s first batch of products was exported, the target market suddenly updated the standards for the use of pet food additives, and the company knew nothing about it.
“Domestically, we understand fishery and production, but internationally, some rules may change at any time. The customs set up a team to help us compare them one by one, from additives to packaging labels. Now before each export, we will communicate with the customs in advance, and we feel much more at ease,” said Zhou Chenglei, office director of Rongcheng Virta Pet Food Co., Ltd.
Customs data shows that in the first two months of this year, Rongcheng companies exported 128.68 tons of pet food, with a value of 3.2074 million yuan. The products have expanded from the original one or two countries to North America, the European Union and other markets.
What is even more exciting for the company is that some international pet food brands have begun to proactively come to seek OEM cooperation.
Qiu Ruixue, deputy chief of the Rongcheng Customs Inspection Section, said: “The biggest fear of new businesses is not competition, but information asymmetry. What we do is to turn the ‘invisible rules’ into a ‘tangible guide’. This industry is still in the growth stage, and what we have to do is to help enterprises smooth the road and take the first step steadily.”
How can foreign trade companies stabilize their position and find growth in a complex and ever-changing market environment?
The answer given by Rongcheng Customs is “adaptation”.
Services must keep up with the pace of enterprise changes. Standard interpretation and system construction must be able to help enterprises pass the entry threshold without making detours.
Song Li, Deputy Commissioner of Rongcheng Customs, believes: “We have been thinking about where the Customs’ ‘sense of presence’ should be reflected. It is not simply ‘release’ or ‘not release’, but to provide the most accurate support when enterprises need it most. What traditional industries need is speeding up, while new business formats need guidance. The service forms are different, but the goal is the same – to give enterprises more confidence to enter the market.”
