On July 11, China Southern Airlines flight CZ307 departed from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, delivering a fresh batch of lychees to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
During the 2025 lychee season, China Southern Air Logistics Company Limited (China Southern Air Logistics), a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines Company Limited, has shipped over 13,000 tons of lychees. International exports have soared by over 70 percent year-on-year, with popular varieties like Feizixiao, Baitangying, and Guiwei from Guangdong now reaching customers worldwide through China Southern Airlines’ expansive global logistics network.
As the world’s largest lychee-producing region, Guangdong is experiencing a bumper harvest across the province this year. With late-season varieties such as Huaizhi and Heiye from Maoming and Zhanjiang now entering their final picking phase, the peak of lychee production and sales is in full swing. Leveraging its extensive air network and integrated logistics system, China Southern Air Logistics has established an efficient air logistics channel for lychees, connecting orchards directly with airports and markets. This fast-track route ensures freshness while optimizing transport costs for farmers and enterprises.
Since the beginning of the season, China Southern Air Logistics has maintained close coordination with local agricultural bureaus and lychee growers across major production areas. In response to demands for traceable and responsive delivery, the company launched a door-to-door model that seamlessly links air transport with upstream and downstream logistics. This allows lychees to reach markets quickly, while growers promote their products through livestream e-commerce channels.
Compared to conventional express delivery, the new model cuts delivery time by 4 to 6 hours and lowers transportation costs by about 10 percent, effectively tackling key challenges of spoilage, delays, and high logistics costs.
To manage the seasonal surge, China Southern Air Logistics has ramped up efforts in cargo collection, packaging, cold-chain storage, and transport capacity. It adjusted its fleet based on demand, including deploying larger aircraft on busy routes to carry more lychees per flight and using wide-body aircraft in some cases to transport up to 20 tons at a time.
The company will continue to upgrade its fresh produce cold chain network and expand to emerging markets in Central Asia and Oceania, according to China Southern Air Logistics.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
