Terms, container loading and shipping from India
Minimum order, Incoterms, payment structure, HS classification and lead times, all on one page. If something you need to know is not here, it is an omission rather than a negotiating position — tell us and we will add it.
Every shipment moves out of Coimbatore under our own IEC registration, not through a third-party exporter of record. That matters at two points: when your bank or customs broker needs the paperwork to match cleanly, and when a question comes up mid-shipment and someone with actual authority over the order can answer it, rather than passing you along a chain.
Terms below apply as standard across Incoterms, container types and destination ports. Where a buyer's process needs something outside these — a different payment structure, a specific document format, or a lead time tied to a fixed sailing date — that's arranged individually at enquiry stage, before production begins rather than after.
Charcoal is a light, bulky cargo, so a container fills up before it reaches its weight limit — pack format changes your tonnage more than the product does, a lesson most first-time buyers learn on their second order. Below is everything a buyer normally has to ask for twice. Nothing on this table changes after a quotation is issued.
| Item | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | 1 × 20ft container | 14 MT for pillow shaped and 14 MT for hexagonal shaped. |
| Incoterms | Ex-Factory, FOB, CFR, CIF | Quoted to your named destination port |
| Payment | 60% T/T, balance vs draft B/L | Advance is against the proforma invoice |
| Lead time | 15–20 days | From receipt of the advance payment |
| Private label lead time | Add 10–14 days | For artwork approval and packaging production |
| HS classification | 4402.20.10 | Coconut shell charcoal. Confirm your own tariff line locally |
| Currency | USD | Other currencies quoted on request |
| Quotation validity | Stated on each quotation | Freight rates move, so validity is set per quote |
| Samples | Couriered on request | Sample free, freight at buyer’s cost |
| Documents | Full set with the shipment | See the Certifications page |
| Product | Standard Packing | Approx. Per 20ft | Loading Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hexagonal briquettes | 25 kg PP bag | 14 MT | Densest option. Floor-loaded or palletised |
| Pillow briquettes | 25 kg PP bag | 14 MT | Similar density to hexagonal |
| Retail packs | 5 or 10 kg in cartons | Lower than bulk | Carton void space reduces tonnage. Quoted per configuration |
| Lighter cubes | 100 blocks per master carton | Quoted per configuration | Usually loaded alongside a charcoal order |
Four terms, and the difference between them is simply where our responsibility stops and yours begins. Pick the one that matches how much of the logistics you want to control.
Goods collected from our plant in Coimbatore. You or your agent handle inland transport, export clearance, freight and insurance. Lowest quoted price, most work at your end.
We deliver to the loading port, handle export clearance and load onto the vessel. You arrange and pay for sea freight and insurance. The most commonly chosen term.
We cover everything up to and including sea freight to your named destination port. Insurance is arranged by you. Useful when you have your own cargo policy.
Freight and marine insurance to your destination port are both included in our price. The simplest term if you would rather receive one number and one invoice.
Our standard is 60% T/T advance against the proforma invoice, with the balance against the draft bill of lading. In practice that means production starts once the advance clears, and the remaining 40% is paid when we send you the draft B/L showing the goods are loaded and consigned to you.
That structure is not arbitrary. The advance covers raw material, packaging and print, which for a private label order is committed before a single briquette is pressed. The balance sits against evidence that your goods actually exist and are on a vessel — you are not paying the second half on trust
For repeat buyers, terms can be discussed. Raise it at quotation stage rather than after a proforma invoice has been issued, because it changes the pricing.
Coconut shell charcoal is classified under HS 4402.20.10. Wood charcoal sits under a separate code, and India does not permit its export at all. The distinction is therefore not paperwork trivia: it is the reason a legitimate Indian charcoal shipment cannot be made from felled timber.
Practically, it matters to you in two ways. A supplier quoting the wrong code creates a problem that surfaces at your destination port, not theirs. And the correct code is part of how your broker determines duty, so getting it wrong can quietly cost you more than the price difference you were shopping for.
We confirm classification before loading and state it on the commercial invoice and packing list. Your own national tariff line may carry additional digits — check that with your customs broker rather than assuming ours maps directly.
From confirmed order to loaded container, each step happens in a fixed sequence — so you always know what stage your shipment is at.
Send product, pack format, quantity, destination port and Incoterm. You receive a quotation and a specification sheet within one working day.
Sample couriered for testing while the proforma invoice is issued. Nothing is committed until you have burned the sample yourself.
Starts on receipt of the advance. Private label orders add 7–10 days for artwork approval and packaging production.
Container loaded, draft B/L sent for balance payment, and the full document set released with the shipping documents.
Coimbatore sits within reasonable inland distance of several South Indian ports, which gives some flexibility on routing and freight cost. We quote from whichever suits your destination best.
Per 20ft container
Standard lead time
Registered exporter
Send us your destination port and monthly volume and you will have a quotation, a specification sheet and a loading estimate within one working day.
