Importing from China runs in eight steps: brief, quotation, sample, order, production, inspection, consolidation and shipping. From a written brief to delivery in Tashkent takes 8–14 weeks on a first order, of which 20–40 days is LCL transit. Our service cost is a published commission from 2.5% of order value plus USD 12 per CBM for consolidation; freight is booked at carrier cost with no markup.
The import process from China, step by step
Most first-time importers underestimate the number of decisions between a product idea and a container. The table below lists them in order, with who does what and how long each stage actually takes.
| Step | What happens | Who does it | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Brief | Product, specification, target quantity and target price are written down | You | Same day |
| 2. Quotation | Factories are identified and quoted; options are compared on price, MOQ, lead time and packaging | Us and the factory | 48 hours |
| 3. Sample | A pre-production sample is made, photographed and approved | Factory, courier | 7–15 days |
| 4. Order and deposit | Purchase order placed; 30% deposit paid | You and us | 1–3 days |
| 5. Production | Bulk production, with schedule follow-up and early warning on delays | Factory, monitored by us | 15–35 days |
| 6. Inspection | Quantity, appearance, specification, function, packaging and labels checked before shipment | Us | 1–2 days |
| 7. Consolidation | Goods from every supplier received at one warehouse, identified, labelled, palletized and loaded | Us | 3–7 days |
| 8. Export and transit | Export declaration, loading, ocean, rail or road transit, destination clearance, final delivery | Carrier, forwarder, your broker | 25–50 days depending on route |
Steps 4 to 7 are where delays are created. A deposit paid late, an unconfirmed sample, or a factory that ships a partial quantity all push the schedule by weeks without any advance warning — which is the practical argument for having someone in China whose job is to watch those four steps.
What an import from China actually costs
Importers usually compare unit prices and forget the other eight cost lines. This is the complete list, with who charges what.
| Cost element | Who charges | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Product cost | Factory | Quoted unit price × quantity, negotiated by us on your behalf |
| Sourcing commission | SilkRoadSource | 6% under USD 5,000 (minimum USD 60); 4% at USD 5,000–19,999; 3% at USD 20,000–49,999; 2.5% from USD 50,000 |
| Sample and courier | Factory and courier | Sample cost plus international courier, charged at cost |
| Consolidation | SilkRoadSource | USD 12 per CBM, minimum USD 30 per shipment, including 30 days of storage, marks, labelling and loading |
| Storage beyond 30 days | SilkRoadSource | USD 1.50 per CBM per day |
| Quality inspection | SilkRoadSource | USD 150 per inspector-day including travel, photos and written report |
| Freight | Carrier, arranged by us | At carrier cost with the invoice forwarded. Indicative LCL reference on the Central Asia lane: USD 130–160 per CBM |
| Cargo insurance | Insurer | Quoted by the insurer as a percentage of cargo value; optional but recommended |
| Duty, VAT and fees at destination | Your customs authority | Set by the HS code and the declared customs value; not included in our fee |
| Customs broker at destination | Your broker | Per declaration |
Two of these lines are worth emphasising. First, freight is not a hidden margin — we book at carrier cost and hand you the carrier invoice, which is unusual in this trade. Second, duty and VAT are set by your country, not by the seller: an offer that quotes you a "final landed price" without naming the customs value and HS code is not comparable with one that does.
Lead times: from order to delivery
Indicative total lead times from brief to delivered goods, by route. Every date is confirmed against the actual sailing or rail schedule when the shipment is booked.
| Stage | Duration |
|---|---|
| Quotation | 48 hours |
| Sampling | 7–15 days |
| Production | 15–35 days |
| Inspection and consolidation | 4–9 days |
| Transit to Tashkent (LCL, door to door) | 20–40 days |
| Transit to Almaty (LCL) | 18–35 days |
| Transit to Bishkek (LCL) | 20–35 days |
| Transit to Dushanbe (LCL) | 25–40 days |
| Transit to Ashgabat (LCL) | 30–45 days |
| Total, first order to Tashkent | 8–14 weeks |
Plan for the upper end of the range on a first order with a new supplier, and the lower end for repeat orders on a proven factory. Seasonal factors matter more than most buyers expect: the Chinese New Year shutdown pushes production and transit out by two to four weeks across the whole industry, and October and destination-side holidays do the same on a smaller scale.
Incoterms explained: EXW, FOB, CIF and DDP
Incoterms decide three things — who books the freight, who pays it, and at which point the risk of loss moves from the seller to you. Getting this wrong is how importers end up paying twice for the same leg.
| Term | Who books and pays freight | Risk transfers to you | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW (Ex Works) | You, from the factory door | At the factory door | Only if you already have a forwarder in China; otherwise you own the loading risk too |
| FOB (Free On Board) | You, from the Chinese port | When the goods are loaded on the vessel | The standard term for LCL and FCL exports from China, and the one that keeps visibility of the freight invoice |
| CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) | Seller, to the destination port | When the goods are loaded on the vessel | Convenient, but the seller chooses the forwarder, so you see one lump price instead of the cost breakdown |
| DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) | Seller, all the way to your address | At your address | Hands-off importing, but see the importer-of-record issue below |
Who is the importer of record on a DDP shipment?
On a DDP shipment the seller — or the seller's nominated agent — is legally the importer of record, because the seller is the party clearing the goods through destination customs. That has three practical consequences worth knowing before you sign a DDP offer:
- You are not the declarant, so you do not automatically receive the customs declaration or the duty receipt for your own records.
- Import entitlements that attach to the importer of record — for example VAT recovery on the import — may not be available to you.
- If the declared customs value is understated by the seller, the risk sits with the party that made the declaration, but your goods are the ones held at customs.
On FOB or CIF terms you are the importer of record in your own country, using your own broker. It is more work and it is more transparent. Most of our buyers choose FOB with us coordinating pick-up, consolidation and booking, and take over the process at the destination with their own broker.
Shipping modes compared
| Mode | Best for | Indicative transit | How it is priced |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCL, sea | 2–15 CBM, mixed SKUs, low-MOQ orders | 20–40 days to Central Asia, door to door | Per CBM, minimum per shipment |
| FCL, sea | 15 CBM and above, or full pallet quantities | 18–35 days | Per container, by container type |
| Rail | Landlocked destinations, steady repeat volume | 18–30 days | Per CBM or per container, rate changes by schedule |
| Road | Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan via western border crossings | 15–30 days | Per vehicle or per CBM |
| Air | Samples, urgent replenishment, high value per kilogram | 5–12 days | Per kilogram, chargeable weight |
LCL is almost always the right first choice, because paying for 3 CBM you have rather than 28 CBM you do not is what lets a mixed order work at all. Move to FCL when your consolidated volume consistently passes 15 CBM — at that point the per-CBM rate stops being competitive.
Documents you need to import from China
- Commercial invoice — seller, buyer, description, quantity, unit price, total, Incoterm, currency
- Packing list — cartons, dimensions, gross and net weight, marks, contents per carton
- Bill of lading or waybill — issued by the carrier for the specific shipment
- Certificate of origin — where a preferential tariff rate applies
- Product compliance documents — required only for regulated categories such as electricals, cosmetics and children's products; ask before ordering, not after
- Customs declaration at destination — filed by your broker, in your name under FOB or CIF terms
We prepare the invoice, packing list and marks as part of the consolidation service and forward them as one pack. Anything a broker would otherwise have to reconstruct from photographs is already written down.
Common mistakes on a first import
- Ordering before the specification is written. A photo is not a specification. Colour, dimensions, weight, material and packaging must be written, or the factory will interpret them.
- Comparing unit prices across different Incoterms. An EXW price and a DDP price are not comparable, and the difference is often larger than the price gap you were comparing.
- Booking freight before the volume is known. Consolidated CBM is only known after goods arrive at the warehouse; quotes given before that are estimates.
- Ignoring the destination-side calendar. Ramadan, New Year and local holidays change both retail timing and clearance speed.
- Paying the full amount before shipment. 30% deposit and 70% before shipment exists for a reason; 100% in advance removes every lever you have if something goes wrong.
- Skipping inspection on the first order. Inspection costs USD 150 per man-day. Reworking or scrapping a defective order costs the whole order.
Where a China-side partner fits
None of the eight steps is technically difficult. They are collectively difficult because they are in Chinese, in a different time zone, and spread across several companies that do not talk to each other. That is the whole job of a sourcing agent.
- China Sourcing Agent — what we do, our published rate card and how a project runs
- Yiwu Sourcing Agent — buying from the Yiwu market district by district
- Product Sourcing — finding and comparing factories for a specific product
- Order Consolidation — merging several suppliers into one shipment
- Quality Inspection — checking goods before they leave China
- Shipping Support — LCL and FCL coordination from factory to dispatch
- Low MOQ & Mixed-SKU — how small first orders work
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to import from China?
Budget 8–14 weeks from a written brief to delivered goods on a first order: 48 hours for quotations, 7–15 days for sampling, 15–35 days for production, 4–9 days for inspection and consolidation, and 20–40 days of LCL transit to Tashkent. Repeat orders on a proven factory usually run at the lower end.
What is the cheapest way to import from China?
Sea LCL for anything between 2 and 15 CBM, because you pay only for the volume you ship. Above roughly 15 CBM, FCL becomes cheaper per CBM. Air is only economically sensible for samples or for goods with a high value per kilogram.
Do I need an import licence?
That depends on your country and your HS code, not on China. Most general merchandise imports into Central Asia require a registered importer and a customs broker rather than a special licence, but regulated categories do carry licensing or certification requirements. Confirm this for your specific HS code before you place the order.
Who pays import duty and VAT?
You do, as the importer, unless you agreed to DDP terms and the seller is the importer of record. Duty and VAT are calculated on the customs value under the HS code your country assigns, so the same goods can carry different charges in different markets. We do not include them in our service fee.
Can you be my importer of record?
No. We operate on the China side — sourcing, inspection, consolidation and export — and under FOB or CIF terms you remain the importer in your own country. This keeps the customs declaration in your name and keeps the duty receipt in your records.
What is the minimum volume for LCL?
With us, orders start from 100 pieces per SKU and there is no minimum CBM to consolidate — the consolidation fee carries a USD 30 minimum per shipment, which is where very small orders land.
Is consolidating several suppliers worth it?
Yes, in most mixed orders. Freight, documentation and export clearance are paid once instead of once per supplier, and storage, labelling and container loading are included in the USD 12 per CBM. On a four-supplier order, separate shipments normally cost more than the consolidation fee plus the commission.
What happens if customs holds my goods?
Destination clearance is handled by your broker. When a hold happens it is almost always about documents or valuation rather than the cargo, which is why we hand over a complete invoice and packing list pack. We support your broker with any China-side documentation they need.
Should I use DDP or FOB?
DDP is simpler to run and hides the cost breakdown. FOB is more transparent: you see the carrier invoice, you are the importer of record, and your duty receipt is in your own name. For a first import where you also want to learn the numbers, FOB is usually the better teaching exercise.
Can you ship to more than one destination in one order?
Yes. A consolidated shipment can be split at destination into separate deliveries, though each split destination carries its own clearance and delivery cost.
What documents do I receive from you?
A commercial invoice, packing list, shipping marks, consolidated packing summary, inspection report on request, and loading photographs — prepared so your broker can file the declaration without reconstructing anything.
How do I start an import from China?
Send a product list or photos with target quantities and your destination city to info@silkroadsource.com or WhatsApp +86 167 8835 4089. You will receive factory quotes, our commission, a consolidation estimate and a freight indication in one quotation.
Country Guides: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
The import process is the same everywhere; corridors and customs differ. Country guides: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan (EAEU), Kyrgyzstan (EAEU), plus the Central Asia route comparison.