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Email: sales@klfreight.com
Buying From India or China?
In some ways, it may seem like the worst time to contemplate buying from China or the Indian subcontinent.
However, in many ways, it has never been a better time to source from overseas. Reduced demand caused by an increased lack of consumer confidence and interest rate hikes has combined with the increasing size of ships. Container ships always seem to get larger,
The following article gives you an overview of the process & procedure of importing, from China in particular.
The best place to start is by understanding your requirements, such as the type and quantity of goods you want to ship, the collection address, the delivery address, the ready date, and the timeline for delivery. Consider factors such as size, weight, and anything specific that may be relevant to shipping such as the possibility of what you are buying being oversize or overweight.
We assume you are starting from the point of having sourced your supplier you are happy with what they are selling you and a price has been agreed upon (being a freight company K&L Freight cannot help you with sourcing your products from China or other markets we serve such as India and the USA).
The next step will be to work out all your costs so you will need your freight costs to do this.
The UK is one of the largest importers of goods from China, with a significant portion of these imports arriving by sea. In recent years, the global trade landscape has undergone significant changes, affecting the importation process between the two countries. This article will discuss the current market conditions for importing by sea from China to the UK.
Tariffs and Trade Agreements
The trade relationship between the UK and China has been impacted by recent global trade tensions and changes in trade policies.
It is over six years now since we voted to leave the EU and we left the EU customs union on the 31st of December 2020.
Up until the end of 2020 sending a shipment to an EU country was a very straightforward process and in many ways, it was the same as arranging delivery in the UK – this was the whole point of the customs union, to create one huge domestic market.
Here at K&L freight we are now constantly being asked ‘ how do I cope with importing from China now that sterling has now collapsed?’
Aside from the fact that sterling has recovered – at least partly – against the dollar and let’s hope it stays that way, there are other factors that come into play when sourcing goods from China.
The immediate reaction from some of our customers to the sterling’s collapse has been to attempt to persuade their Chinese supplier to sell to them in Sterling.
As HM Revenue has extensively publicised, their mainframe customs entry IT system. CHIEF, will close for all import customs entries nationally on 30 September 2022 as the system is over 25 years old and has reached the end of its life.
CDS Import Software
The new Customs system that replaces it is named CDS; it is already up and running. Many of the changes that CDS bring are behind the scenes. It brings much more complication and is a much more comprehensive solution than CHIEF,
As you may have probably already heard, there is a threat of strike action at Felixstowe container port in the UK. Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port and handles around 40% of the UK’s container trade.
The recent COVID outbreak is causing real problems for international trade and transport from and to China at the present time.
Whilst COVID cases are very low compared to the numbers that are accepted in Europe and America, the Chinese policy of a zero case target is causing the world of trade some serious issues.
It seems the epicentre of the current outbreak is the Shanghai area, but this is not the only part of China affected.
You will have most probably read or seen on TV that it has been a tough time importing into the UK this autumn, as neatly and accurately explained in the following BBC news article – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58904567
What we are sure you will want to know is if the situation is still bad, worse, or hopefully getting better!
The good news is that things are improving, though rather slower than we would like,
