CHINA Post yesterday admitted that hundreds of containers from Japan have been languishing at Waigaoqiao port for months, but blamed the delay on Shanghai Customs.

China Post Express Mail Service said 287 containers shipped from Japan in eight batches between late October and the end of November are stuck at the port. They mostly contain haitao, or goods bought online from overseas, it said.

EMS said the delay was because Shanghai Customs in October launched a monthlong “investigation into its supervision mode,” which meant its usual clearance procedures were halted until mid-December.