I. Current State and Market Opportunities of Swiss Chocolate Import Trade

In recent years, China’s imported-food market has kept expanding; Swiss chocolate, thanks to its dual identity of “premium quality + cultural icon,” has become a go-to gift and an everyday affordable-luxury item. Customs data show that in 2023 China’s food imports from Switzerland rose 18.7 % year-on-year, with chocolate and cocoa preparations accounting for over 35 % of the total. The main driver is the deepening China–Switzerland Free Trade Agreement (CHFTA): the tariff on filled chocolate under HS 1806.3200 has been cut to 0 % (MFN rate 10 %), sharply lowering import costs.

On the demand side, Gen Z and middle-class households are paying more attention to “origin certification” and “craft stories,” driving annual imports of Swiss artisanal chocolates (e.g., Lindt, Teuscher) up by over 20%. Yet opportunity comes with challenges: customs’ “double-random” inspection rate for imported food has risen to 25%, making document compliance and cold-chain temperature logs the keys to clearance, and underscoring the growing importance of professional agency services.

II. Core Competency: Professional Control over Documentation and Logistics

(I) Document Processing: End-to-end Pre-review to Avert Customs-clearance Risks

Importing Swiss chocolate requires assembling 12 categories of core documents; the agent’s level of expertise directly determines customs-clearance efficiency:

• Trade documents: Commercial invoice (must state the trade term, e.g., CIF Shanghai), packing list (indicate net/gross weight per carton), bill of lading (MBL—master bill preferred; avoid HBL disputes);
• Compliance documents: China-Switzerland Free Trade AgreementOrigin CertificateBook (Form CH, HS code and direct-shipment clause must be shown), Swiss official sanitary certificate (issued by FOPH or an authorized body, stating “in compliance with China’s GB 29921-2021 food-safety standard”), component analysis report (covering cocoa-butter content and food-additive details);
• Special documents: Pre-packaged products must provide a Chinese label sample (compliant with GB 7718); non-pre-packaged products must be accompanied by a “No Additives Declaration” stamped with the official seal of the Swiss exporter.

Zhong Shen International Trade Co., Ltd.The agency team offers pre-check of documents, verifying in advance whether the “route of transport” on the certificate of origin meets the “direct consignment” rule (a transshipment certificate is required if the goods pass through a third country/region), thus preventing return or duty-supplement caused by document discrepancies (saving an average of 7–15 days in customs clearance per shipment).

(II) Logistics Services: Precise Matching of Cold Chain and Transportation Solutions

Chocolate is sensitive to temperature and humidity (optimal storage and transport temperature 18–22 °C, humidity ≤ 65 %); the logistics plan must balance timeliness and cost:

• Transportation method: Urgent Order RecommendationAir freight(Zurich–Shanghai in 48 hours), using DGP temperature-controlled containers (±2°C precise temperature control); available for regular ordersMaritime transport(25–30 days), must use a reefer container and record temperature-control data throughout the journey (auto-uploaded every 2 hours); submit the Cold-Chain Transport Monitoring Report to customs at clearance.
• Destination port operation: Complete the switch bill within 12 hours after arrival (with a telex release guarantee or original B/L), give priority to booking the “advance declaration” model (declare 3 days before cargo arrival), and reduce demurrage (ordinary demurrage at Shanghai Port is about USD 50/container/day);
• Distribution and Delivery: Provide bonded warehouse storage (suitable for batch sales) or direct delivery to distributors (in partnership with JD Logistics and SF Cold Chain, enabling 48-hour nationwide delivery).

III. End-to-End Agency: Closed-Loop Management from Requirements Confirmation to Delivery

With two decades of agency experience, Zhongshen International Trade breaks the import of Swiss chocolate into nine core stages, ensuring every node is controllable:

1. Client Consultation: Clearly specify the product type (dark chocolate / milk chocolate / filled chocolate), HS code (1806.10 / 1806.32 / 1806.90), and annual import volume (affects logistics plan negotiation);
2. Negotiation and Contract Signing: Review the "quality clauses" in the contract (e.g., cocoa butter ≥35%), the "risk transfer point" (FOB Swiss port vs. CIF Shanghai), and "dispute resolution" (selecting the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission);
3. Orders & Payment: Supports mainstream methods like T/T (30% advance + 70% upon arrival) and L/C (sight?L/C?, and review "soft clauses" such as "the exporter must provide an acceptance certificate signed by the customer");
4. Production supervision: Entrust SGS Switzerland to conduct pre-shipment inspection (focusing on verifying packaging integrity and consistency between batch numbers and the sanitary certificate), and issue the "Pre-Shipment Inspection Report";
5. Customs Compliance: Complete the importer filing (via the General Administration of Customs’ “Internet + Customs” platform) and pre-classify the HS code (to avoid mistakenly classifying “chocolate with nut filling” under 1806.10, which would result in higher tariff payments);
6. Quality Assurance: Upon arrival, cooperate with customs for sampling (1 carton per 200 cartons) and send to a third-party lab for testing (focusing on Salmonella and aflatoxin). Non-conforming goods will trigger a return or destruction process (the agent can assist in negotiating compensation with the exporter).
7. Summary Feedback: Provide the "Full Import Process Report" (including logistics tracking records, tax and duty breakdowns, and inspection status) to help clients optimize their next import plan (e.g., adjusting the port of departure to Geneva to shorten transit time).

IV. Special Scenario: VTB for Russia-Related BusinessConvert foreign exchange into RMBAdvantages

Some customers re-export Swiss chocolate via Russia (e.g., through Vladivostok Port) or sell it directly to Russia; Zhongshen International Trade can provide VTB Bank (Russiaforeign tradeBank) Foreign-exchange settlement support:

• Multi-currency settlement: Supports direct settlement in CNY/RUB/EUR, avoiding USD exchange-rate volatility (in 2023 the RUB/CNY fluctuation reached 12%);
• Payment efficiency: VTB has established correspondent-banking relationships with ICBC and Bank of China, enabling cross-border remittances to arrive on T+1 (the traditional SWIFT route takes T+3);
• Exchange Rate Lock - in: Provide forward FX settlement and sale instruments (e.g., 3-month rate lock with a locked-in exchange-rate deviation ≤0.5%) to safeguard profit margins.

V. Certification Notice: Compliance Requirements to be Completed by the Client

Special note: Zhongshen International Trade does not directly provide product certification services, but it can assist in reviewing the compliance of documentation. Customers must complete the following certifications on their own:

• Registration of Overseas Food Production Enterprises for Import (FHC): Log in to the “Registration System for Overseas Food Production Enterprises” of the General Administration of Customs of China to submit the application (Swiss business license, HACCP certificate, etc. must be provided);
• Chinese label filing: Pre-packaged chocolate must carry a Chinese label that complies with GB 7718 (must indicate “Country of Origin: Switzerland” and “Domestic Agent: XX Company”), under “Imported FoodCosmetics"Label Management System" filing;
• Other Detection: If the customer claims the product is "organic chocolate," conversion certificates recognized by both Bio Suisse and the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA) must be provided.

VI. The Core Value of Choosing a Professional Agent

Importing Swiss chocolate involves multi-dimensional challenges spanning policy, logistics, and finance; the value of a professional agent is reflected in:

• Professional support: Through logistics option comparison (air-sea combination) and tariff planning (leveraging CHFTA zero-tariff), the overall cost is reduced by an average of 8–12%;
• Risk avoidance: In 2023, 70 % of the return cases caused by document discrepancies could have been avoided through pre-clearance; in cases deemed non-compliant by customs due to missing cold-chain records, a professional agent can give a three-day advance notice to supplement the temperature-control data;
• Efficiency Improvement: The full-process agency averages 45 days (compared with 60–75 days for self-handling), enabling clients to react swiftly to market opportunities such as Valentine’s Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival sales windows.

Against the backdrop of stricter imported-food oversight and increasingly segmented consumer demand, choosing an agent that combines dual core competencies in documentation and logistics is the key for Swiss chocolate importers to seize the market initiative.