Hohhot, capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has reported a 7.08 billion yuan ($1.06 billion) trade volume in imported and exported food in 2020, up by 8.8 percent year-on-year, according to local media reports.

Russia and Mongolia are two major trading partners of Inner Mongolia, with the total trade volume of imported and exported food with the two countries reaching 1.05 billion yuan and accounting for 14.84 percent of the gross foreign trade volume of food.

Looking at the statistics, all the main imported and exported products have seen sales increases to varying degrees. Imported deli products from Mongolia, for example, have recorded a year-on-year increase of 27.01 percent. The seed food exported to Russia has surged by 333.33 percent year-on-year.

In recent years, Hohhot customs has been actively promoting the foreign trade of food, including expanding the number of imported food types and targeting and addressing business issues raised by related enterprises. In 2020, six firms were designated for foreign trade on food, and Russian chicken products were added to the import list. Customs also offered assistance in helping wheat flour and rye flour from Mongolia gain market access.

In addition, Hohhot customs has optimized their services by streamlining government procedures, cutting the review period for imported animal and vegetation products by 20 percent, and carrying out "paperless" work.