Xiaolan

Importing from Xiaolan to the UK

Xiaolan Port, located in the town of Xiaolan within Zhongshan City in Guangdong Province, serves several significant industrial districts.

It’s also served by Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports. Xiaolan is renowned as the "Lock City of the South." Approximately 30% of its manufacturing enterprises focus on locks and hardware, contributing to nearly half of the town's industrial output. It’s also been recognised as China’s first ‘Electronic Acoustics Industrial Base’. Xiaolan is well-known for its production of domestic stereos, DVDs, high-tech digital audio equipment, loudspeakers, and circuit boards.

The town also has a sizable lighting industry, particularly in LED production The port's strategic location in the Pearl River Delta enhances its role in supporting the industrial activities in Xiaolan and the broader Zhongshan area.

What are FOB and EXW terms?

The two most important Incoterms for UK importers receiving cargo from Xiaolan Port are FOB and EXW.

FOB (Free on Board)
When goods are sold FOB, the seller bears all costs and responsibilities until the goods are loaded onto a vessel and brought to the closest port. After the item is loaded, ownership of the item passes to the client, who bears all import-related expenses, such as shipping from the point of origin to the destination and customs clearance fees.

EXW (Ex Works)
The seller's only duty under the EXW incoterm is to deliver the goods to the designated address, which may be a factory or warehouse. Here, the buyer assumes the majority of the seller's duties and manages all export and import procedures, including transportation, loading the goods, securing customs clearance, and insurance.

Sea Freight service options from Xiaolan to the UK

Depending on the volume of their items, importers moving goods from Xiaolan port to the UK have a choice between two shipping methods.

Full Container Load (FCL)
Importers are able to reserve a whole container to ensure that it is solely used for their goods.

Less-than-Container Load (LCL)
Less-than-Container Load (LCL) shipping allows lower-volume importers whose goods don't fill the entire container to share container capacity with other shippers.

Do you need an export licence?

Products are categorised by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) into three groups:

Permitted goods
Restricted goods
Prohibited goods

The MoC's export permits provide details about the buyer(s), seller(s), shipment, price, and mode of transportation. These licences are required in order to export restricted goods. Permission is also required for Chinese Foreign Trade Companies (FTC) to export to UK branches. On the other hand, an export licence is not required for trade with foreign vendors in foreign countries (FOBs).

Essential import documentation for customs clearance