charlotte_e_hope

Good Afternoon,

I am taking another trip at the end of the year to Morocco for a 2 week period. I plan to source metalwork (i.e. lanterns, lamps, wall sconces, sculptures etc) from various street suppliers in Fes to ship back to Australia. These items will range from mid to large in size (large being about 1m high).

I am in the very early stages of planning and am seeking any information members could provide me in relation to the following:
• Best way to ship and a guess on pricing – shipping container, FedEx, general post.
• Location to ship from, directly from Morocco, or drive to UK/Spain/Gibraltar.
• Tax and duties payable on transport.
• Reputable contacts for shipping.
• Customs requirements.

Any assistance, information or pointers in the right direction that could be provided would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.

ladybug888

A lot of it will depend on how much you plan to ship, and if you plan to do one shipment. The smallest shipping container is 20' (6m) and can hold about 17,000 kg without special chassis. It is likely that you will not need that much space. Otherwise freight forwarders consolidate containers (They put several different companies product in one container).

Have you ever imported goods into Australia? Will these items be for a business or just personal items? Some companies may not want to deal with personal items. Do you need the items to be packaged for you?

If any solid wood packaging material will be used a special form has to be filled out declaring that the wood is free from bark and that it has been heat treated (to remove bugs). This is an Australian import requirement.

The duties and taxes will depend on exactly what the items are. You will want to choose a freight company what will do the customs brokerage for you, if you do not have a broker for you.

In my experience with shipping you have to ask many questions of the freight forwarder and tell them exactly what you need and expect.

My suggestion is to call the three big companies that are known more for their express courier services, but can handle anything: FedEx, UPS and DHL. They all move a lot of their own shipments verses them being the middleman. I think DHL has a better global forwarding division. They have advertisements on the English cable chanels in Morocco. But like the others only have locations in the bigger cities. They have partnerships with others to get the shipments to them. UPS and FedEx are known here in the USA for having stores that help with the packaging.

There are other companies that will be the middleman to get everything arranged: Schenker, Kuehne & Nagel, Expeditors, Main Freight, there are many. Even try contacting your local freight logistics companies.

There is no way to guess on pricing. It all depends on weight, air or ocean, freight forwarder, and special services like packaging.