Gaziantep to Mersin, then the coast you choose
Gaziantep is about three hours by road from the port of Mersin. From there a container sails to the East Coast ports of the New York area or the South Atlantic, to the Gulf via Houston, or on a longer routing to Los Angeles and Long Beach. A distributor in the Northeast takes the East Coast; a West Coast grocery chain takes the Pacific and accepts the longer transit. We quote CIF or DAP to the port or warehouse you name, or FCA Gaziantep and FOB Mersin if you run your own freight.
The Importer Security Filing is the importer’s
US Customs requires the Importer Security Filing, the ten data elements known as 10+2, to be transmitted before the container is loaded at the foreign port. It is filed by the importer or its broker, not by the exporter. What it needs from us is the seller, the manufacturer, the ship-to party, the container stuffing location and the tariff headings, all of which are on the offer and the packing list well before loading. Late or missing filings are penalised, so we send the data early.
Entry, FDA and the broker
At arrival the customs broker files the entry with the tariff line of each product, the FDA prior notice with the producer’s registration data, and pays the duty that applies on the day. Retail and bulk packs of the same product can sit on different tariff lines; the offer lists them separately so the broker does not have to guess. The producer’s data sheet, with ingredients and allergens, is in the file for the FDA and for your label.
What rides together
One container carries chocolate, Turkish delight, dragées, confectionery and pistachio spread from several Gaziantep producers, each line on its own pallet with its own minimum from the offer. In the warm months the cocoa-butter chocolate line sets the temperature for the whole box, so a reefer is quoted; in winter a standard container is usually enough. The loading photographs go to you before the ship leaves.
Retail pack and bulk pack on separate lines
One product often exists as a retail pack and a bulk pack, and the two can sit on different tariff lines and different pallet plans: Turkish delight as a boxed retail unit and as a 2 kg inner unit in a 20 kg case, dragées as a 35 g flowpack and as a 3 kg bulk box. The offer lists them as separate lines with their own headings so that the entry, the ISF and the pallet plan are built on the same numbers. A US distributor who serves both grocery and food service usually takes both formats of the same line in one container.
The offer, in one page
We are an export company, not the factory. Send the lines, the formats and the destination warehouse. Within two working days you have a written offer in US dollars, FCA Gaziantep, FOB Mersin, CIF or DAP, with the producer named per line, the tariff heading and the case and pallet data. Payment by bank transfer, half with the order and half before departure against the loading photographs. Samples first, free from running production, courier at your cost.
Do you file the ISF for us?
No. The Importer Security Filing is the importer’s or its broker’s. We supply the seller, manufacturer, stuffing location and tariff data ahead of loading.
East Coast or West Coast?
Whichever is closer to your warehouse. The Pacific routing is longer; the offer shows both if you ask.
Is a reefer always needed to the US?
Only when a cocoa-butter chocolate line ships in the warm months. Jars, dragées and Turkish delight do not need it.
