"Where there's canned food, there's a local brand of canned food." This saying refers to the market dominance of canned goods from Difang Town, Pingyi County, Linyi City, Shandong Province. Leveraging the rich fruit tree resources of the Yimeng Mountains, the area has become the largest fruit canning hub in China, producing 30% of the country's total fruit cans. Since 2000, local canning companies have not only solidified their position in the domestic market but also ventured overseas to enhance their international competitiveness. Today, there are 25 registered export canning companies, and the scale of exports has grown nearly 30 times.

Quality Standards to Ensure Safety

Recently, at Linyi Qiwei Canned Food Co., Ltd., located in Difang Town, the sweet aroma of fruit fills the air. Inside the clean and orderly workshop, fresh yellow peaches are peeled, washed, sliced, canned, sealed, and sterilized, producing sweet yellow peach cans.

Wang Zhimeng, the company’s foreign trade manager, shared that they are currently in peak production for yellow peach cans, fulfilling an order of 12,000 jars for a Japanese client. After customs approval, the products will be shipped overseas.

Linyi Qiwei produces a wide range of fruit cans—peaches, pears, apricots, oranges, and mixed fruits—exported to Japan, Korea, Europe, the U.S., and Southeast Asia. However, the company faces a challenge: different countries have varying standards for canned products, and the company lacks the expertise to navigate these diverse requirements.

To ensure export quality, local customs authorities gather and study international regulations and standards. They hold regular briefings to help businesses adapt to foreign policy updates. They also guide companies on controlling key aspects of production, such as raw material inspection and sterilization, to ensure the safety of exported canned fruits.

"Three-Same" Standards to Expand Markets

Just ten kilometers from Linyi Qiwei, Shandong Huihuang Food Co., Ltd. stands as a model for specialized small-to-medium enterprises. The company's self-owned brand has been recognized as a "Shandong Famous Trademark." Through years of effort, it has become a leader in both domestic and international canned food markets.

Chen Zhongwei, the company manager, attributed their success to the customs' promotion of the "Three-Same" policy. Initially unfamiliar with it, the company adopted the "Three-Same" approach under customs guidance.

The "Three-Same" principle refers to producing products for both domestic and foreign markets using the same production lines, standards, and quality requirements. This allows companies to meet the needs of international markets while also selling their products domestically.

Chen said that with the help of customs, their company passed international certifications, improving product quality and market competitiveness. This strategy helped them achieve over 80 million yuan in domestic sales in just the first half of the year.

Faster Customs Clearance

At Guan Zhilin (Shandong) Food Technology Co., Ltd., the fruit canning lines are running at full capacity to meet a surge in overseas orders. Business manager Li Changai noted that their company's fruit can exports have increased by more than 70% year-on-year. However, the challenge is ensuring the cans clear customs quickly to avoid storage costs and delays.

To accommodate the rapid growth in exports, customs has introduced measures such as online booking for inspections and priority testing services. They also implemented digital certificates, allowing for faster customs clearance.

Li shared that with the new system, they can receive the necessary inspection certificates within 30 minutes, ensuring smooth overseas deliveries.

In the first five months of this year, Linyi’s fruit can exports reached a value of 190 million yuan, up 35.7% year-on-year.