Sending food items to international destinations can be difficult since you have to make sure you abide by all the guidelines while preserving the products’ freshness and quality during transit. Food shipping requires careful planning and following rules and regulations at every step. The courier you partner with for the shipment is also important, as the right service provider can offer smooth and efficient transportation and deliveries. Shipping professionals are required to have special skills and expertise to send food parcels across borders.
The worldwide food transport industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.20% from 2021 to 2028.
In this blog, we will be discussing everything related to international food transport, from choosing the ideal courier company and following international shipping guidelines to getting customs clearance. Understanding the international shipping stages is important to gain more customers, provide efficient delivery services, conduct smooth import and export, etc. Keep reading this blog further to explore the world of international food shipping.
Factors to Consider While Choosing an International Courier for Shipping Food Items
When shipping food internationally, it is important to choose the right courier service provider. Some factors should be considered when choosing a courier.
- Adherence to regulations: Choose a courier service provider that ships parcels according to international shipping regulations. The shipping provider must fulfill all the requirements of the customs authorities for international food shipping and help sellers prepare documents for customs clearance.
- Experience in packaging and shipping: To ensure that the food’s freshness remains intact, confirm the shipping provider has experience handling and packing food products in temperature-controlled packaging. They should also have appropriate delivery choices.
- Provides tracking: Select a shipping service provider that offers real-time tracking so you can monitor your shipment’s whereabouts and know the estimated time of delivery.
- Budget-friendly: Evaluate the costs, features, dependability, quality, and services offered by various couriers. After comparing everything, choose a courier service that offers affordable prices for efficient international food transportation.
- Provides Insurance: Choose a courier service that offers insurance coverage for international food shipments. This will safeguard your finances in the event of loss, damage, spoiling, etc.
- Delivery options: To ensure that the food shipment arrives at its location on time, pick a courier service that has a variety of delivery windows. This will avoid delays in case one transportation mode gets hindered by natural or manmade adversities.
- Check reviews: Research the courier services that ship food internationally to ensure that the business is reputable and offers high-quality services. Pick a courier with authentic reviews and recommendations.
Guidelines to Follow While Shipping Food Items
International food shipping needs careful planning to make sure that the food products are shipped safely and as per regulations. Some of the guidelines that should be followed while shipping food items are:
- Understand the import and export guidelines and regulations of the destination country to make sure that you follow all the applicable laws.
- Make sure to complete all the documentation beforehand, including obtaining permits, certificates, etc.
- Packaging should be suitable for food items. Make sure that it is durable and leak-proof. Provide gel packs, dry ice, and insulated packaging when required.
- Use a temperature-controlled shipping method to maintain the quality and freshness of the food.
- To ensure smooth transportation, the food packages should be labelled clearly with expiry dates, special instructions, the content of the packing, contact details, etc.
- Go through the list of restricted food items in the destination country to avoid shipping restricted food products.
- Choose a courier company that is experienced in shipping food items and offers tracking services, insurance, etc of food items.
- Follow the safety precautions mentioned for shipping food items to make sure they remain fresh, and they reach the recipient in consumable condition.
How to Get Customs Clearance for Food Parcel?
Getting a customs clearance certificate for food parcels can be easy if you follow the proper guidelines and processes for importing or exporting food parcels. You can follow these simple steps to get customs clearance for your food parcels:
- Step 1: Firstly, get to know about the destination country’s regulations, documents required, restrictions, etc.
- Step 2: Prepare and pack the food parcels according to the destination country’s requirements and rules to ensure that the customs authorities there don’t reject them.
- Step 3: Prepare and collect all the documents required, like important permits, licences, certificates, commercial invoices, details and descriptions of the food items, etc.
- Step 4: Choose a courier service provider with experience in shipping food parcels internationally. Make sure that they also provide customs clearance assistance.
- Step 5: Pack the food parcel using temperature-controlled, leak-proof methods to prevent contamination, rotting, etc. This is necessary to maintain product quality and freshness during shipping.
- Step 6: Prepare and submit the declaration form to the customs. The form includes detailed information on the food items, including the type, quantity, value, and purpose of importing them.
- Step 7: Submit all the important documents to the courier company and make sure that they are submitted to the customs clearance department to avoid any delays or rejections.
- Step 8: When the parcel reaches the destination country, the customs authorities will impose taxes and duties applicable to your couriered items. To clear the customs, you just need to pay the tariffs and taxes.
- Step 9: After getting the customs clearance certificate from the authorities, you should get the food items delivered to the final destination.
It is suggested that you keep copies or originals of all the documents, including customs clearance certificates, permits, records, receipts, etc., for your future reference.
Conclusion
International food shipping requires proper planning to ensure safe transportation. Sellers should take all the necessary steps to ensure the food items reach their destination on time and without damage. For an efficient and smooth shipping service, sellers must prioritise factors like packaging quality, adherence to regulations, real-time tracking of the parcel, budget-friendly solutions, etc.
A courier service provider like ShiprocketX can help sellers ship internationally with ease and safety. You can rely on their various features, such as temperature-controlled packaging, different shipping modes, insurance for the shipments, and B2B delivery.
