Where responsibility starts.

A quotation is not comparable to another quotation until you know which shipping term each one is written on. The letters look like paperwork. They are the division of both cost and risk.

The three you will meet

EXW puts the goods at the factory gate and everything after that is yours, including export clearance. FOB carries them to the vessel at the named port with export formalities done, and risk passes as they are loaded. CIF goes further, with sea freight and a minimum insurance arranged by the seller, though risk still passes at loading rather than on arrival.

Cost and risk do not always change hands at the same moment. That gap is where disputes live.

Why FOB is the common ground

Most of our partnerships run FOB, and for a straightforward reason: we are better placed to handle the origin side, and an experienced buyer usually has freight rates and a forwarder better than anything we could negotiate on their behalf. It also keeps the invoice readable, because the factory prices what the factory controls.

Comparing quotations honestly

Before comparing two prices, ask which term, which port, and what is excluded. An EXW price will always look lower than an FOB one and may not be. Ask who pays local charges, who is the exporter of record, and what happens if a container is rolled — the answers are cheaper to hear now than to discover later.

We will quote on whichever term suits your setup. What we will not do is quote a number without the term attached, because that number does not mean anything.