Chongqing - Despite the geographical distance between China and the Americas, nations like the U.S. and Brazil have become key trade partners for Chongqing. While primarily linking Asia and Africa, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) has also extended to several countries in the Americas, facilitating significant economic exchanges.

Workers process imported beef in the workshop of Chongqing Hondo Agriculture Group Co., Ltd. (Photo/Xinhua)

Highly efficient trade through ILSTC

On August 1st, at a Metro supermarket in Chongqing’s Nan’an District, local resident Wang Li filled her cart with Brazilian beef, a testament to the growing presence of Latin American products in the city. “In recent years, there’s been a noticeable increase in the availability of high-quality, affordable Latin American ingredients,” she remarked.

Chongqing Hondo Agriculture Group Co., Ltd. was one of the first Chinese companies to import beef from Latin America. However, it had long been challenged by high costs and lengthy logistics.

Previously, importing Brazilian beef involved costly and time-consuming processes. Due to extended shipping routes and complicated customs procedures, it took over two months from Brazil to Chongqing.

“Every extra day in logistics for frozen imports significantly increases costs,” noted Zhu Gangquan, Deputy General Manager of Hondo Agriculture. This logistical burden has been a persistent challenge for the company.

A turning point came in early 2023. Hondo had ordered a shipment of lamb from Australia, which was initially planned to be transported to Chongqing via the traditional route. Wang Haibo, General Manager of Fengheng Logistics, a company established in Chongqing’s Fengdu County to leverage the ILSTC, proposed using the ILSTC route via Qinzhou. This route could reduce transportation time by about five days and save over a thousand yuan per refrigerated container.

Hondo decided to give the ILSTC a try. The Australian lamb shipment took just 45 days to reach Qinzhou Port, followed by five more days to clear customs and arrive in Chongqing—a significant improvement compared to previous logistics timelines.

Pioneering methods for frozen imports

In June 2023, Hondo decided to import over 600 tons of Brazilian beef via the ILSTC. This initiative also marked the first use of a bonded cold chain warehouse in Fengdu operated by Fengheng Logistics, an innovation that allowed for deferred tax payments and eased financial pressures on the company.

Previously, imported goods required inspection at coastal ports, often involving container transfers, which increased costs and risked damaging goods. The new "One Container to the End" model eliminated these transfers, boosting efficiency and saving time. Localized customs clearance in Chongqing further streamlined the process, setting a new standard for bonded frozen meat imports in the city.

Thanks to these innovations and the coordination of related departments, Hondo has been able to reduce logistics time by nearly 20 days and save thousands of yuan per container. “With this approach, we can retrieve goods from the warehouse and pay for them only when needed, reducing financial strain,” Zhu explained. Over 60% of Hondo’s Brazilian beef imports now arrive via the ILSTC.

The Fengheng Logistics bonded warehouse has also seen significant growth. Since Hondo’s initial shipment of Brazilian beef, the warehouse has handled six batches of goods through the ILSTC, with a total value of 43.23 million yuan by the end of last year.

Financial innovations boost trade

ILSTC’s financial innovations, including the nation’s first multimodal "One Order System" digital bill of lading, have further supported trade expansion. Fengheng Logistics leveraged this system to secure an 857,000 yuan loan, alleviating the financial pressure of beef imports and enabling larger import volumes.

In the first half of 2024, Hondo imported Brazilian beef worth over 22 million yuan through the ILSTC. With Chinese demand for imported beef increasing annually, Hondo’s imports from Latin America are expected to exceed 100,000 tons this year.

In addition to beef, a variety of Latin American foods are making their way to Chongqing tables via the ILSTC. In the first half of 2024, Chongqing imported 730 million yuan worth of meat from Brazil, a 43.1% increase year-on-year.

(The Chinese version of this report was contributed by Qiu Xiaoya, Yang Jun, and Ren Meilian, reporters from Chongqing Daily.)