KUNMING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Days ahead of the Spring Festival, workers of the Kunming Hasfarm Flowers Co., Ltd. were busy harvesting carnations, which will be transported to foreign markets after sorting and packaging.

"Our major export destinations are Japan and Vietnam, where flowers are often among a household's daily purchases," said Tim Scalongne from the Netherlands, managing director of the company in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Yunnan has a diverse climate and a superior ecological environment for growing flowers. It is the second largest fresh-cut flower trading center in the world.

The company's imports of flower seedlings were impacted by COVID-19 for some time, as the suspension of international airlines cut off the industry's traditional logistics chain.

The Kunming Customs extended a helping hand good in time. It took advantage of the cooperation platform of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor to facilitate imports of flower bulbs and seedlings by Yunnan.

The corridor is a trade and logistics passage jointly built by Singapore and provincial-level regions of western China, and is seen as an important bridge for China-ASEAN trade and economic cooperation.

"Thanks to their help in coordinating with other customs, our overall production and operations have not been affected," said Scalongne.

Kunming Customs data shows that in 2020, Yunnan exported 17,000 tonnes of fresh-cut flowers, with a total value of 500 million yuan (about 77.45 million U.S. dollars), up by 33.4 percent and 19 percent, respectively, year on year.

Besides flowers, Yunnan is also famous for vegetables and fruits that grow in the plateau environment. In 2020, the province's export volume of unique agricultural products hit around 3.24 million tonnes, registering a year-on-year growth of 16.4 percent, while the total export value of 36.07 billion yuan showed year-on-year growth of 8.9 percent.

In recent years, a number of mango varieties have gained popularity in the city of Baoshan due to their shiny golden appearance, pleasant fragrance and high degree of fruity sweetness.

"In 2019, several Russian purchasers came here and fell in love with our mangoes at the first bite. They instantly proposed becoming our business partner," said Xian Guangwen, head of an agricultural production cooperative in Baoshan.

Since the cooperative had been rooted in the domestic market and had no experience in international trade, Xian had no idea what procedures to go through regarding exports.

After inquiring online, Xian got in touch with Tengchong Customs through a service hotline, which sent staff to help him the next day.

The customs then helped Xian build its export channel by contacting export-trade enterprises and strengthening supervision of fruit planting and packaging in accordance with Russia's quarantine requirements, said Xian.

When COVID-19 disturbed Xian's export plan in early 2020, the Tengchong Customs assisted the cooperative in connecting road transport and China-Europe freight-train shipment. The first batch of nearly 20 tonnes of "Ivory Mango" reached Moscow by freight train in July last year.

According to Xian, many farmers nearby have expressed their desire to join the cooperative. "Besides mangoes, our Russian partners are also very interested in Baoshan's watermelons, tomatoes and other fruit and vegetable products," he said.

The cooperative will make plans for additional planting with a view to expanding exports, he added. Enditem

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