A customs official examines fruit exported from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. [Photo/fjsen.com]

According to Zheng, 90 percent of Taiwan fruit entering the mainland is now via Xiamen, which tops all the ports on the mainland in terms of volume. Meanwhile, the aquatic product imports it handled from the island jumped from $2,500 to $66.98 million in value over the same period.

Lin Ziyi, an official from Xiamen customs, revealed that in a bid to facilitate Taiwan fruit importing, the local authorities rolled out a raft of policies and measures which has greatly shortened the time required for customs clearing.

Not confining itself to fruits and aquatic products, it is reported that the city is looking to further expand its connectivity with Taiwan cities including Kaohsiung and Taichung, and to build itself into a national distribution center for Taiwan products entering the mainland market.