Shanghai Customs sees 45% surge in e-commerce import orders in 2017

SHANGHAI - The number of cross-border e-commerce imports passing through Shanghai customs was up 45.2 percent to over 16.4 million in 2017, the Shanghai Customs said Tuesday.

Sales value of these imported products was 3.6 billion yuan ($570.77 million) in 2017, 66.3 percent higher than in 2016.

Business-to-Customer (B2C) orders rose by 145 percent to 5.35 million, with the total import value up 89.6 percent to 1.6 billion yuan.

"B2C products set higher requirements for the efficient customs clearance," said Guo Ting with online shopping site RED.

The paperless clearance at Shanghai customs has enabled companies like RED to deliver imported products to customers within 24 hours.

Last year, RED cleared more than 1.3 million orders, growth of 207 percent.

An official with Shanghai customs said the previous shipping and handling costs have been transformed into profits, which further boosted business volume.

Shanghai Customs handles about one-fifth of China's imports and exports each year.