Exported Chinese mooncake is fresh on arrival overseas. Here's why.

Mooncake valued at more than 49.7 million yuan ($7.4 million) left Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and found its way to places outside the Chinese mainland in the first eight months this year — exports representing year-on-year growth of 42.7 percent, customs officials announced on Friday.

The surge for the traditional treat is expected to continue as the Mid-Autumn Festival arrives on Sept 25 this year, a statement said.

Many mooncake manufacturers in Guangdong are sparing no effort to expand their production and diversify their products before the festival amid increased overseas demand.

"Our newly launched Dubai-style pistachio chocolate mooncakes and Yashixiang (Phoenix Dancong) tea-flavored mooncakes have gained popularity in markets across the Middle East, Hong Kong and Macao," said Cheng Yunfeng, senior executive at New Food Era (Foshan) Food Co.

"All overseas orders have been shipped. And we are now working at full capacity to fulfill pre-festival orders for Hong Kong and Macao."

Efficient customs services are the final step in ensuring that the company can supply its overseas markets with a quality product, Cheng said.

On Tuesday, for example, 207.2 kilograms of the company's lava custard and mung-bean paste snow-skin mooncakes passed inspections at the Nanhai customs office, which is administered by Guangzhou Customs. The goodies were shipped to Macao in time for genuine Lingnan (South China) Mid-Autumn flavors to reach residents before the festival.

Since January, New Food Era has exported mooncakes, Sachima and other products valued at 30 million yuan.

As a seasonal festival food, mooncakes have a short shelf life so speed of delivery is important, the statement said.

To meet enterprises' intense holiday-related shipment demands, Guangzhou Customs mapped out enterprises' production schedules and export estimates ahead of time. Customs officers even visited businesses in person to brief them on regulations in different countries and regions to help them standardize the whole process from raw material control, production and final product quality testing.

Key procedures such as raw material traceability, application of additives, baking and packaging, were monitored for risk, while mooncake were put on a fast-track for export. Measures including appointment-based declarations, priority inspections and rapid issuance of certificates were rolled out to minimize cargo clearance time and ensure that exported mooncakes reach customers worldwide in optimal fresh condition.

During the January-August period, Foshan Customs alone oversaw mooncake exports valued at more than 38 million yuan to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, alongside Hong Kong and Macao.