How to find a genuine factory, price a shipment correctly and avoid the three mistakes that cost first-time importers the most money.
Key takeaways
- Always separate the supplier from the freight agent — never let one control both.
- Budget landed cost, not FOB price: duty, VAT, GetFund, NHIL and port charges add materially to the invoice.
- Sea freight from China runs 30 – 45 days; air freight 5 – 10 days. Plan orders backwards from your selling season.
China remains the single largest source market for Ghanaian importers, from building materials and machinery to electronics, textiles and packaging. The opportunity is real, but so is the risk: most losses we are asked to rescue do not come from freight — they come from poor supplier selection and from importers who priced only the goods and forgot the landed cost.
1. Verify the supplier before you pay a cedi
- Ask for the business licence and check the registered company name matches the bank account you are paying into. Payments to a personal account are the clearest fraud signal there is.
- Ask how long they have produced your specific item. Trading companies quote everything; factories quote a narrow range well.
- Request a video call in the production hall, not a showroom, and ask them to show the machine running your product.
- Order a paid sample. A supplier unwilling to sell one sample will not care about a container.
2. Price the landed cost, not the FOB price
The quotation you receive from a Chinese supplier is usually FOB (goods delivered to the port of loading). Everything after that is yours. A realistic landed-cost model has six lines:
- 1Goods value (FOB) + inspection cost
- 2Ocean or air freight to Tema/Takoradi or Kotoka
- 3Import duty and levies assessed on CIF value
- 4VAT, NHIL and GETFund on the duty-inclusive value
- 5Terminal handling, shipping-line charges and demurrage risk
- 6Clearance, haulage to your warehouse and internal handling
3. Choose the right mode for the order
| Mode | Transit from China | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sea FCL (20ft/40ft) | 30 – 45 days | Full loads, heavy or bulky goods |
| Sea LCL (shared) | 30 – 45 days | 1 CBM and above, small importers |
| Air freight | 5 – 10 days | High-value, seasonal or urgent stock |
| Express courier | 3 – 7 days | Samples, spare parts, documents |
4. Get your documents right at origin
Ghana Customs assesses on documents, not on goodwill. Before the cargo sails you should already hold a commercial invoice with correct HS codes, a packing list matching the invoice line for line, the bill of lading or air waybill, and any permit your product requires (FDA, Standards Authority, Energy Commission for appliances). Documents corrected after arrival are documents that cost you demurrage.
5. Where Fenat Eagles fits
We act as your independent party in China: supplier verification, factory inspection, quality checks before payment, consolidation of multiple suppliers into one shipment, and door-to-door delivery with clearance handled at Tema. Because we are not the seller, our incentive is to protect your money rather than to close the sale.
Next step
Need this handled by specialists?
Talk to our procurement, freight and customs team for a shipment-specific answer — not a generic quote.
