January 28 (China News Service, Huaihua, Hunan)
(Authors: Fu Jingyi, Zhang Zhuo)
“We finally got through the peak season for fresh fruit shipment before the Spring Festival.” On January 28, the day before Chinese New Year’s Eve, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Huaihua International Land Port Development Co., Ltd. Lei Mingxiong finally got to enjoy his vacation. “Fruit trains will arrive successively when the holiday ends.”
As the Spring Festival approached, domestic demand for fresh fruit was increasing. At Huaihua International Land Port, batches of fruit trains loaded with bananas, durians and longans from Southeast Asia were transported to markets in central regions such as Changsha and Nanchang immediately after loading and sorting, enriching the fruit supply for local people during the Spring Festival.
“The value of fruit transported this month almost equals that throughout 2024.” According to Lei Mingxiong, in 2024 cold-chain trains transported 210 TEUs of fruit from Huaihua International Land Port, weighing around 2,523.61 tons and worth approximately RMB12,856,100. As of January 26 this year, 108 TEUs of fresh fruit were transported, weighing about 1,571.67 tons and worth about RMB11.8 million. A Southeast Asian fruit express is taking shape.
On January 26, the train service of Huaihua International Land Port in Hunan operated normally. (Photo by Li Hui)
Tang Youru, Chairman of Hunan Yousu International Trade Co., Ltd., said that since the launch of the Southeast Asian fruit cold-chain trains from Vientiane to Huaihua, the time from harvest to table is no longer than five days, thanks to the close coordination of highway-railway intermodal transport and immediate cold-chain delivery.
“When it comes to fruit, fresh is best. Market demand is increasing during the Spring Festival. More goods mean more profits. I plan to increase the proportion of goods purchased from Huaihua International Land Port this year.” Zou Ronghua, head of Huaihua Xingda Premium Fruit Wholesale Store, spent the busiest time of the year. The store orders longans from Thailand, which are imported through Huaihua enterprises using the cold-chain trains from Huaihua International Land Port and sold locally. He sees new business opportunities in this business mode.
Huaihua is part of the “13+2” inter-provincial consultation and cooperation mechanism of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the only ASEAN freight assembly center in Hunan Province. After just three years of construction, Huaihua International Land Port has launched the rail-sea intermodal transport service and seven international railway logistics channels including the China-Laos, China-Vietnam, and China-Myanmar channels. 70% of goods from the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor are transported southward to ASEAN by way of Huaihua, achieving global connection.
“As planned, the scheduled cold-chain trains from Kunming to Huaihua will be officially launched for operation in April this year, with a monthly capacity of 10 trains.” Tang Youru, with over 20 years of experience in commercial and trade circulation in Yunnan, is working on the cold-chain special line from Kunming to Huaihua International Land Port, so as to facilitate Huaihua’s development into a logistics distribution center for imported fruits from ASEAN and vegetables and flowers from Yunnan and continuously improve its import and export.
Since 2023, based on the cooperation agreement between Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi, Huaihua International Land Port has promoted cooperation of various modes of transportation such as road, rail, water and air, expanded inter-provincial cooperation between Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi and between Hunan and Yunnan as well as the horizontal cooperation between cities and prefectures in Hunan Province and deepened cooperation in enhancing customs clearance efficiency, regional goods consolidation, and reducing railway rate, thereby building a “golden channel” between the central region and ASEAN.
Huaihua will also build a land port featuring cold-chain logistics. Yang Shijun, General Manager of Huaihua International Land Port Development Co., Ltd., said that the transportation volume of cold-chain trains is expected to exceed 300 TEUs in 2025. Looking ahead, they will strengthen cooperation with surrounding regions, jointly develop the cold-chain logistics market, give play to the advantages of the existing cold-chain logistics platform, introduce more preferential policies, provide better services, and improve logistics efficiency. (End)
（Published in the Chinese Commercial News and World News on January 29）
(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)