Chongqing - A freight train carrying bananas from Laos recently arrived in Chongqing, marking the first shipment of imported bananas delivered via sealed rail-to-rail intermodal transport.

Customs officers at Chongqing Port inspect a shipment of imported bananas. (Photo/Chongqing Customs District)

The shipment consisted of five 40-foot containers with a net weight of 85.5 tonnes. Departing from Vientiane, Laos, the cargo entered China through the Mohan Railway Port in Yunnan Province before continuing by rail to Chongqing. After clearance by Chongqing Customs District, the bananas were distributed to fruit wholesale markets in Chongqing and surrounding areas.

According to the importing company, domestic demand for quality Southeast Asian fruit has risen steadily in recent years. Lao bananas, known for their stable supply, good taste, and relatively controllable costs, have gained increasing popularity in the Chinese market, driving growth in import volumes.

The rail-to-rail transport model ensures smoother logistics, enables end-to-end temperature-controlled traceability and real-time data monitoring, and significantly reduces transportation losses. The company said overall logistics costs, including loading and unloading, have fallen by about 16 percent compared with previous transport methods.

To improve the quality of imported fruit and facilitate cross-border trade, Chongqing Customs District has launched a pilot program for destination inspection and quarantine of imported fruit under the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor framework. Relevant departments strengthened coordination with Kunming Customs and Chongqing’s port logistics authorities, establishing a joint working mechanism that provides one-on-one guidance on policy interpretation, overseas supplier verification, and quarantine permit applications.

Zhao Kai, deputy director of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Department at Chongqing Customs District, said that as a key component of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the China-Laos Railway is increasingly demonstrating advantages in efficiency, stability, and green, low-carbon operations, and is becoming an important channel for Southeast Asian agricultural products entering Chongqing.

(Zhang Xinyue, an intern, also contributed to this report.)