SHANGHAI, March 6 (Xinhua) -- After 30 days in isolation for quarantine inspection, 42 Melbourne thoroughbred racehorses were delivered to their Chinese buyer by Shanghai Customs Wednesday.

The horses arrived at Shanghai last month after a 13 hour flight from Australia on a chartered plane. They were worth a total of 10 million yuan (about 1.49 million U. S. dollars) and the transport cost of each horse was around 100,000 yuan, said a source of Shanghai Customs.

The import demonstrated the development of China's horse raising industry. In the past the buyers would entrust foreign trade companies to import horses, but this time it was the horse company that imported the horses directly.

Before the horses were imported, relevant government departments of the two countries had signed on a document specifying quarantine requirements. The quarantine procedures were strictly carried out, said the customs source.