Nantong quarantine inspectors targeted the numerous empty containers stacked in Nantong’s container yards recently, according to an article in China News Service published on 10 June, and issued a grave warning that poor hygiene levels might exacerbate the problem of falling exports. According to the inspectors, few of the empty boxes are genuinely empty. They took samples from 20 randomly-selected containers and found various infestations in 11 of them. In addition to items of daily household waste such as sweet wrappers and rags, some contained wood packaging not stamped with the International Plant Protection Convention logo, the international standard for wood packaging. Many countries, including China, ban such substances from entering their ports, the inspectors said, and without a thorough clean-up, overseas-bound Chinese-made goods could risk return at entry, thereby exacerbating the depressed state of the export market.

The inspectors advised shippers, shipping lines and freight forwarders to inspect empty boxes before taking them to the yard. They also reminded the terminals to follow established procedures in the cleaning up process.