Tianfu Yuan - Chengdu Agricultural Products recently organised a ceremony at the international railway port for the occasion of the first departure of the China-Europe Railway Express (the Chengdu-Europe high speed rail). That train carried a total of 41 standard containers. The first two were loaded with 34 tons of Chengdu kiwi fruits.
The China-Europe Railway Express travels through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and other countries for approximately 11,000km. The final stations are Tilburg, The Netherlands, and Paris, France. The railway journey is expected to take 15 days.
This railway transport carries two refrigerated containers. After the kiwi fruit is loaded, the temperature is kept at 1-2 degrees Celsius to allow the fruit to stay in a dormant state, which lengthens the ripening process. When the train arrives in Tilburg, the cargo enters Dutch customs and goes through a complete, integrated customs clearance procedure that includes inspection and quarantine. From Tilburg the kiwi fruit goes directly to supermarkets and large scale marketing channels in Amsterdam and elsewhere.
Source: Chengdu Reports