Exporters and manufacturers in the industrial heartland of the Yangtze River Delta region are being urged to adopt international trade practices to prepare for the new opportunities and challenges made available by the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

In its latest annual report, Shanghai Maritime Court noted that domestic foreign trade enterprises are vulnerable to commercial fraud and often at a disadvantage when claiming indemnity because of their relatively low market position and abilities to negotiate.

The rights of small and medium-sized enterprises are subject to violation because of their unfamiliarity with the rules of international trade, transportation and settlement, as well as their insensitivity to transaction risks, the court wrote in the conclusion to its 2012 annual report published on Tuesday.