North China's land ports see soaring fruit, vegetable exports

This photo taken on July 17, 2024 shows an outbound China-Europe freight train waiting to depart from the Manzhouli railway port in Manzhouli, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

HOHHOT, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Land ports in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region saw fruit and vegetable exports soar in both volume and value in the first seven months of this year, according to local customs.

Exports at Manzhouli, China's largest land port, totaled 153,000 tonnes during this period, valued at 1.14 billion yuan (about 159.67 million U.S. dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of 70.1 percent in volume and 87 percent in value, according to Manzhouli Customs.

"The order volume of fruits and vegetables for export has steadily increased this year, driven by a wider variety of products and export modes," said Zhang Xiao, head of Manzhouli Heng'e Trading Company Co., Ltd.

Located approximately 714 km from the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, Erenhot Port is the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border. It handles most of Mongolia's fruit and vegetable imports due to its unique regional advantages and efficient customs clearance.

From January to July, Erenhot Port exported a total of 89,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables, up 35.5 percent year on year, with the export value reaching 320 million yuan, 1.7 times higher than last year, according to Erenhot Customs.

Since the launch of a "green channel" for agricultural products between China and Mongolia in 2018, Erenhot Port has witnessed soaring exports of agricultural products.