(Yicai Global) July 19 -- China's e-commerce titan's JD Logistics and state-run China Railway Express have started collaborating to deliver Chinese customers food produce from thousands of kilometers away within 48 hours.

On July 18, the G1372 train dispatched from Kunming in southern China's Yunnan province, delivering unusual guests of Yunnan-grown Matsutake pine mushrooms. After 11 hours and over 2,300 kilometers, the produce reached Shanghai Hongqiao station where Jingdong Logistics swiftly sorted the cargo to send it to clients. This marked JD Logistics and China Railway Express' first joint project to step up the efficiency of fresh food delivery, Chinese news outlet Donews reported.

Matsutake is an Asian delicacy, particularly savored by the Japanese who pay exorbitant prices for the aromatic fungus which grows in trees. In a bad year, prices can reach over USD880 per kilogram in Japan. Matsutakes are hard to grow and find in nature, and the mushroom has a shelf life of about a week, all of which may add to the supply chain manager's stress levels.

Matsutake is a perfect guinea pig for the sped-up railway transport as in China, this product used to be transported by planes, which had its own obstacles. The collection period from July to September coincides with the rainy season in the production areas of Shangri-La, Lijiang, and Kunming, and thereby thunderstorms often delayed the delivery.

Both of the carriers seem keen to expand abroad. Beijing rebranded cross-border freight trains under the title 'China Railway Express' in 2016 to build the carrier into a link between China and countries along the way to Europe under the Belt and Road initiative. JD set up JD Logistics last year to offer smart transport service with an aim to cover over 100 countries and regions in five years along the same Chinese overseas investment initiative. It may as well be that in the next years the Yunnanese Matsutake mushrooms will reach Japanese tables too.

Editor: Emmi Laine