“Shipping from China to Saudi Arabia – Simple Guide
Close trade ties have maintained companies exporting large volumes of goods from China to Saudi Arabia. China is a major manufacturing and global outsourcing country in the East, and is one of the three major trading partners of the Middle East Kingdom. Production is expected to rise as Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy from one that has traditionally been oil-based.
If your business takes advantage of healthy trade exchanges between the two countries, your supply chain undoubtedly relies on sea or air freight to import from China to Saudi Arabia.
What are your shipping methods from China to Saudi Arabia?
Air Freight from China to Saudi Arabia
Air freight services are suitable for urgently needed goods, light-weight goods, and high-value and high-risk goods such as weapons and jewelry.
Compared with sea freight, it is safer and faster.
However, using this service is expensive, which is why it is advisable to consider sea freight.
Many factors affect the shipping cost of air freight, such as the weight of the cargo, the nature of the cargo and the cost of shipping.
Air Cargo Type
They can be divided into:
General cargo
They refer to items such as electronics, medicines and watches.
These items are generally considered to be of high value and are often at risk of loss, which is why they need to be shipped faster to their destination.
Globally, these projects account for 40% of the entire international air cargo industry.
They need to be shipped in good condition, which is why air freight is usually used, even though the shipping cost is too high compared to ocean services.
The price of the item is usually high compared to the shipping cost.
special cargo
They are cargoes that include live animals, dangerous or temperature-controlled cargo (such as marine animals), weapons that need to be transported quickly to their destination.
There are also chemicals and perishable goods that require refrigeration and freezing throughout the transport chain.
Perishable or dangerous goods are subject to strict regulations compared to general cargo.
These cargoes need to meet the given standards and be thoroughly inspected, so not every airline is willing to accept these items for shipment.
Shipping from China to Saudi Arabia
LCL (LCL): Ship your shipments from China to Saudi Arabia using a shared container with other shippers’ shipments, called LCL. This option is usually the most affordable option when you don’t have enough cargo to fill the container.
Full Container Load (FCL): A full container is the term used to transport a container from China to Saudi Arabia that contains cargo belonging to only one shipper. For a flat fee, you can dedicate the container to your product. This is a great way to ship larger, heavier shipments at a fixed price.
How much does it cost to ship goods from China to Saudi Arabia?
While you’ll find some differences in freight transit times between China and Saudi Arabia, you’ll encounter a wider range of cost options.
Of course, air freight is more expensive than sea freight. However, for shipments weighing around 100kg, the cost difference may be negligible. However, the larger the load, the higher the cost of air freight compared to ocean freight.
If time is in your favor, ocean shipping will always be the most economical shipping method. When you need to get your goods fast from China to Saudi destinations, air freight costs may be more reasonable.
If your cargo weighs less than 35kg, neither air nor sea freight services provided by a freight forwarder will be cost-effective. For such small shipments, it is best to contact an international courier company.
Saudi Arabia embargoed items:
Saudi law prohibits the import of the following items;
arms
alcohol
poison
Pork and Pork Products
pornographic material
Brewing equipment
used or retreaded tires
Old clothes and certain sculptures.
Saudi customs also do not allow the import of used cars, used police cars, taxis and taxis older than five years.
If you want to import certain items, special permissions are required. These include agricultural seeds, live animals, books, journals, religious books and tapes, etc.
Saudi Arabia customs clearance process:
The customs clearance process in Saudi Arabia can be divided into the following steps;
File introduction:
When the goods arrive at Saudi ports, the original shipping documents along with the relevant certificates and other required legal documents must be presented to the customs authorities.
an examination:
Authorities will then carefully inspect the shipment. They will match it with what appears on the shipping documents. They will check the goods for violation of local laws. If they find any objections, they can reject the entire shipment and deny it entry into the country. If the goods belong to a special category, we will take samples from them and send them to the relevant authorities for further inspection and customs clearance.
Custom calculation:
After inspection, the goods are analyzed to calculate customs duties.
Classification:
The goods are then sorted and sorted. This paves the way for tariffs and other charges.
Payment of customs duties:
This is the final step in assessing the goods for customs purposes and collecting the relevant duties. The importer is informed of the total duty and is required to pay it. After payment, the goods are finally released and sent to the importer’s warehouse or to the given address.
This is how a bespoke procedure is done in Saudi Arabia.
Documents required for import:
The following documents are required for import in Saudi Arabia;
bill
packing list
Landing Act
Certificate of Insurance
Certificate of Conformity (CoC) SASO Certificate
SFDA Saudi Arabia
country of origin certificate
Should I choose China or Saudi Arabia freight forwarder?
When importing from China, it is always best to choose a freight forwarder in China, regardless of the shipping method. China freight forwarders are ideal for overseas shippers because it has language and geographical advantages, and you also need a warehouse for storage and preparation. An experienced Chinese freight forwarder will have the following competencies: Fluency in Mandarin and Cantonese, a thorough understanding of Chinese business culture, experience in managing Chinese suppliers, experience in category and procurement process, experience in quality control, experience in auditing, and experience in logistics. Local Freight forwarders (from Saudi Arabia) often need to contact other forwarders in China to handle picking, preparation, storage and customs clearance.
TJ-chinafreight is your right choice, with more than 20 years of experienced staff adhering to the mission of “”we deliver faster, safer and easier””, to provide customers with high-quality, professional and fast logistics solutions.”
