In the spacious and well-lit production workshop of Suzhou Dongda Wood Industry Co., Ltd., forklifts loaded with goods shuttle back and forth. A piece of wood undergoes processes such as veneering, repairing, splitting, thickness sanding, grooving, and painting before becoming finished wood flooring. The products are then neatly arranged, awaiting inspection by customs officers from Suzhou Customs, a subsidiary of Hefei Customs. Once approved, they will be packed into boxes and begin their overseas journey to Vietnam.
"In fact, the export process for wood products is more complex than most people imagine," explained Huang Kai, Chief of the Inspection Section at Suzhou Customs, without pausing his inspection work. As plant-based products, wood items carry certain quarantine risks due to their inherent characteristics. Therefore, strict quality control is essential to ensure compliance with relevant standards and requirements.
Yongqiao District of Suzhou City, recognized as a "National Demonstration Zone for Poplar Wood Industry," "Second Batch of National Forestry Industry Demonstration Parks," and "Top Ten Forestry Counties in Anhui Province," has leveraged its abundant green resources in recent years. Aligning with the positioning requirements of new industrialization, the district has vigorously promoted the high-quality development of the green home furnishing industry. It has forged a path of industrial cluster development integrating R&D, production, sales, and experience, exploring a sustainable development model where afforestation drives ecological industries.
Supporting the local economy and serving foreign trade enterprises is a duty Suzhou Customs takes seriously.
Given the wide distribution of bamboo, wood, and grass product enterprises and the high qualification thresholds, Suzhou Customs has introduced a "one-on-one" full-process assistance program. By optimizing registration procedures, streamlining document reviews and on-site assessments, and guiding enterprises in establishing quality control systems for raw materials and traceability management, the customs authority helps businesses quickly obtain export qualifications. To address quarantine risks and diverse foreign technical trade measures for wood products, Suzhou Customs regularly compiles regulations, standards, and quarantine requirements from major trading countries or regions and promptly disseminates them to enterprises. It also assists in applying for phytosanitary certificates or fumigation/disinfection certificates to ensure smooth customs clearance.
The warm service provided by Suzhou Customs is reflected in the local wood product export data.
"This is the 130th batch of products our company has exported this year," said Zhang Min, head of Suzhou Dongda Wood Industry Co., Ltd. "Our product quality is excellent, and we are confident in facing inspections worldwide, allowing more high-quality products to cross oceans." According to statistics, from January to May this year, Suzhou's wood product exports reached 220 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.1%. Six new bamboo, wood, and grass product manufacturing enterprises were registered, with over 55 companies consulting on registration. A total of 1,560 batches of bamboo, wood, and grass products underwent inspection and quarantine, up 23% year-on-year.
Suzhou Customs continues to enhance service efficiency by formulating export assistance lists for enterprises. Through initiatives like "Customs Chiefs Delivering Policies to Doorsteps," it provides targeted policy interpretations for key industry processes such as sourcing, production, and logistics. Meanwhile, it strengthens risk control, optimizes enterprise registration management, and guides wood product manufacturers in improving their sanitary and epidemic prevention systems. By reinforcing inspection and quarantine controls in raw material storage, production, and finished product acceptance, implementing tiered export inspections, and opening a "green channel" for local inspections of exported wood products, Suzhou Customs combines streamlined measures such as "cloud-issued" inspection certificates, intelligent clearance approvals ("released in seconds"), and self-service printing of certificates of origin to safeguard the expansion of wood product exports.
Suzhou Customs will continue implementing a series of measures to stabilize and boost foreign trade. Through targeted services to help enterprises overcome difficulties and intelligent supervision to enhance efficiency, we will promote the healthy and orderly development of the wood product export industry, injecting strong momentum for local specialty industries to expand into international markets.
