Is the imported food market too complicated? Urumqi foodies teach you how to avoid pitfalls

Have you ever been browsing at night and seen the spicy stir - fried rice cakes in Korean dramas or the wagashi in Japanese dramas, and suddenly been so hungry that you couldn't sleep? In Urumqi, there is a group of people who, like "food detectives", shuttle through the global supply chain, bringing the special - featured foods of more than 30 countries onto the shelves of this northwestern border city. Today, let's uncover the secrets of the imported food agency world in this city.

In Mr. Zhang's warehouse, German beer and Thai coconut candies are just separated by a wall. "Direct import requires dealing with three major challenges: customs declaration, cold - chain transportation, and halal certification", said this agent with eight years of experience, pointing at the double - labeled products with Kazakh and Chinese. Data shows that the market size of imported food in Urumqi grows at an average annual rate of 17%, but the complaint rate of personal purchasing agents due to product deterioration caused by non - standard warehousing conditions is as high as 23%.

• The document wall should be complete: Regular agents like Zhongshitong will display the customs clearance form, imported food hygiene certificate, and halal food certification in a prominent position.
• Warehousing is technology - enabled: Ms. Li's constant - temperature warehouse uses Internet of Things monitoring, and Russian chocolate can always be maintained at the optimal temperature of 18℃±1.
• Product selection is logical: Central Asian honey, Japanese and Korean snacks, and European baby complementary foods form a differentiated matrix.

At the agency points around the International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, these products are often sold out:

• Georgian clay pot wine (popular due to its special brewing process)
• Iranian saffron (about 40% cheaper than in the mainland)
• Turkish dried apricots (the sugar - free version is sought after by fitness enthusiasts)

Ms. Wang recently bought imported biscuits with a blurred expiration date. Experts suggest: scan the QR code on the Chinese label to check the entry date, look for the CIQ mark (China Inspection and Quarantine mark), and especially pay attention to whether there are ice crystals on the frozen food packaging due to repeated thawing. In the imported food cases seized by Urumqi Customs last year, label violations accounted for as high as 61%.

Some pioneer agency points have transformed into "global food experience halls". Consumers can participate in an Italian cheese tasting event on - site or learn to make pasta with French durum wheat. This "experience - before - purchase" model has tripled the repurchase rate of a certain store. "We are not porters, but interpreters of food culture", a practitioner who did not want to be named defined this new role in this way.

When you open a pack of Malaysian Musang King durian mooncakes on the streets of Urumqi, have you ever thought about how many mountains and seas this small snack has crossed? Welcome to share the amazing imported foods you've encountered in the comment section, or complain about the "import pitfalls" you've fallen into over the years - after all, the wisdom of food lovers is always evolving.