Staff members from Yongzhou Customs inspect the dragon fruit due to be exported to the Netherlands. [Photo provided by Yongzhou Customs to chinanews.com]

A shipment of Guangxi dragon fruit has passed customs quarantine control and left for the Netherlands from Yongzhou Customs, part of Nanning Customs, officials from Yongzhou Customs said on Jan 7.

The 400-kilogram batch of dragon fruit has a value of 27,969 yuan ($4,311.8). It marks the first time that Guangxi dragon fruit has been exported abroad.

Dragon fruit, with its high nutritional value, has been increasingly popular among consumers in recent years. But the sale of dragon fruit was thrown into difficulty due to the outbreak of COVID-19, said Su Xiuqing, the person in charge of the company exporting this shipment. 

Su noted that the company had been looking at the overseas market to explore new selling opportunities, but the company failed due to its lack of export qualifications and experience. 

Customized services have since been provided for the company by Yongzhou Customs, such as shortening the timeframes for getting administrative approval and for carrying out detections of poisonous and harmful substances.

Liao Chaojun, an official from Yongzhou Customs, said that the customs will use more initiatives to help local companies producing fresh agricultural products expand into markets in countries along the Belt and Road.