China is Australia's largest trading partner. China is not only Australia's largest export destination, but also its largest source of imports. Overall, it accounts for more than 30% of Australia's trade. The Australian economy needs the Chinese market. Learn about the shipping methods available from China to Australia.
These are some of the things your business needs to know when shipping between the two.
What products can you ship from China to Australia?
In the past decades, China became a global leader in producing electronics, cell phones, cosmetics, garments, shoes, furniture, and much more. Among the billions of dollars of goods shipped from China to Australia each year, top exports include:
- Computer hardware
- Electronic components
- Garments
- Household textiles
- Furniture
Plastic products
China’s an industrial powerhouse. Pretty much any good you can dream up can be manufactured in the country and shipped to another ﹘ barring some legal restrictions.
Laws and restrictions
There are few laws restricting exports from China, while most import restrictions in Australia are what you would expect: weapons, animals, drugs, cultural relics, food and plant life. It is worth noting that while some items are not prohibited from being imported in Australia, they may be prohibited in some states. Be sure to look around for more specific regulations before shipping.
Shipping from China to Australia
Available transportation
China and Australia have strong economic ties. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) came into force in December 2015, removing most tariffs and boosting bilateral trade. When it comes to shipping from China to Australia, there are two shipping methods available:
Sea freight from China to Australia
If you are shipping on a budget, sea freight is the most efficient way to ship products from China to Australia. Depending on the size of your consignment, you can choose between less than container loads (LCL) or full container loads (FCL).
How long does it take to ship from China to Australia?
If China's loading port is Shenzhen, Guangzhou to Sydney and other Australian ports.
The transportation time is 11 days, 13-15 days, and 11 days.
Another port in Shanghai, due to the farther destination, takes much longer than Shenzhen, while Sydney is within 13 to 17 ports, Melbourne within 18-20 days and Brisbane within 13 days.
Taking loading ports such as Tianjin as a benchmark, it takes longer to consider shipping products into Australia than other ports that consider more than 20 days.
24 days for Sydney Harbour, 26 days for Port Melbourne and 23 days for Port of Brisbane.
While potential deliveries from Chinese ports to Australian ports have been identified, they cannot be guaranteed due to loading complexities.
It may take up to 7 days to load the cargo to the preferred port.
Air Freight from China to Australia
Air freight is the fastest shipping method, but also the most expensive. If you ship small consignments (up to three pallets) of perishable and valuable cargo, it may be worth considering air freight.
How long does it take for air freight from China to Australia?
It varies according to destinations such as port to port and door to door.
Getting items to customers' homes takes more time than ports.
Shipping from different airports in China like Guangzhou to Australian ports like Brisbane takes 3 to 6 working days.
But if the freight forwarder is responsible for home delivery, it will take 6 to 12 working days.
Because it needs to deal with the shipping system within Australia to deliver the product in time.
It varies depending on the destination of the port, which requires many formalities and routes to cover the cargo.
How to reduce shipping cost from China to Australia?
You must choose a shipping provider that has good experience with regularly shipping products and services from China to Australia.
They even offer customers discounts on product shipping.
For example, when freight forwarders have been offering discount programs, such as 10% less fees than usual.
It is suitable for items over 500kg, which will help reduce shipping costs.
In terms of transport items, there are two types of air freight and sea freight.
It is the responsibility of the organization to choose the appropriate shipping method for the goods.
If you need to ship the product within 7 days and carry more weight (eg 300kg), then air freight is the best option.
But when you need to ship about 800kg, you have to choose sea freight because it will be cheaper.
Australian customs clearance
Before you decide to source from a Chinese trading partner of your choice, please ensure that the goods meet Australian safety standards. For example, Australian law regulates chemicals in consumer products, children's products, vehicles and furniture.
For the customs clearance process, you need to provide many documents. These include:
- Commercial invoice
- Bill of Lading or Air Waybill
- Certificate of Origin
- Packing List (Inventory)
- Letter of credit (or other payment terms).
