Shanghai Customs speeds up African fruit imports

Shanghai Customs has implemented new measures to expedite the clearance of African fruits, offering Chinese consumers a wider variety of fresh, high-quality produce.

A cargo ship, carrying 67.5 tons of apples and oranges from South Africa, berthed at the the Waigaoqiao Port Area in Shanghai last Wednesday, following the completion of border inspection and entry procedures.

Customs officials have taken active measures to make the fruits enter the local market on the same day.

"Under the premise of strict implementation of plant quarantine supervision requirements, we've improved efficiency and completed inspection quickly to ensure that qualified fruits imported from Africa can enter the market as soon as possible," said Luo Zhen, deputy chief of No.10 inspection division of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Area Customs under Shanghai Customs.

Thanks to the close economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, Chinese people now can enjoy more and more high-quality agricultural products from the continent.

Since the beginning of this year, the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Area Customs has inspected 2,298 tons of fruit imported from South Africa, such as grapefruits, oranges, pears and apples.

"I have tried oranges from South Africa, and I think they taste good," said Lu, one of the customers.

"Compared with domestic fruits, African fruits have different taste, they have their own special flavor. I often choose some imported varieties to have a taste," said Zhang, another customer.

Shanghai Customs speeds up African fruit imports

Twenty-nine survivors were found in the passenger plane crash in Aktau, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) reported.

An Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines with flight number J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau Airport on Wednesday with a total of 67 people on board.

According to the MES, 482 people are involved in the rescue on site, as well as 97 pieces of equipment, two aircraft and four teams of search and rescue dogs.

A group of electric power workers near the crash site were among the first batch of rescuers, who said they helped save around 15 people at the scene.

"We saw the plane crash with our own eyes and quickly packed up to head to the scene for rescue. Later, personnel from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and hospital staff members arrived. About 10 of us went there. We brought a crane to help rescue people from the cabin," a rescuer said.

The emergency departments of Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan exchanged information via video conference.

According to Subkhonkul Rakhimov, a survivor of the crash, the plane suddenly rose rapidly and began to increase its altitude when it was about to land in Grozny. There was heavy fog at the time, and the crew tried to land the plane in Grozny three times, but all failed. An explosion occurred during the third attempt to land.

29 survivors rescued from plane crash in Kazakhstan