The Chinese market is becoming more and more important as the years go by, and there is a good reason as to why the situation is improving – it is now possible to import products of increasingly higher quality from China. It is worth to take a closer look as to how you may import goods from China so that is it done in the cheapest way possible.
 
1. Transport by sea
 
It is the usual choice for many importers, mainly because that mode of transportation is cheaper than the rest. That kind of transport is perfectly fine if the cargo’s worth is not too high, and when we do not rely on quick transit time.
 
On the other hand, sea transportation proves useful when you may want to transport bigger amounts of cargo at once. It is true that you will have to wait for the products for longer than other ways of transport, but you will not pay a lot of money for it.
 
The key to this transport is the weight of the cargo – the bigger it is, the more profitable the transport is going to be.
 
2. Air freight
 
In this case, the situation looks very much opposite to the sea transport. When transporting by air, small cargo of high value is the most profitable to transport. Of course, the biggest advantage of that mode of transport is very short transit time. Apart from that, Incoterms (conditions of transport and payments) pays a crucial role in the whole process
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The most popular are: CIF (Cost Insurance and Freight) and CFR (Cost and Freight) – in those cases, the shipper takes on all the charges and chooses the carrier, and – in case of CIF – also the insurer. Sounds good? In real life it is not that good, since it does not prove very beneficial, and that is why it would be better to choose another Incoterms formula.
 
We recommend the EXW (Ex-works) the consignee pays for the transport and they take responsibility for it. In practice, it is a better choice, since we can choose the courier service working on door-to-door basis and has connections with customs agencies. Thanks to that fact, we avoid unnecessary problems.
 
It is also worth to note that the freight from Shanghai to Gdynia takes around 40days, and to Hamburg – only 30. In that time, it would be prudent to prepare all the necessary documentation for customs clearance.