Shipping from China to Kenya

Shipping from China to Kenya

China is Kenya's largest source of imported goods, and most of what arrives does so through the Port of Mombasa. BrighterDay Freight handles the whole chain — collection from your supplier's factory or warehouse, consolidation, ocean or air carriage, customs clearance, and delivery to your door in Nairobi or upcountry.

Ports and cities we cover

We move cargo from all the main Chinese export gateways: Guangzhou and Shenzhen for consumer goods and electronics, Yiwu for small commodities and mixed cartons, Shanghai and Ningbo for machinery and industrial goods, and Qingdao and Tianjin for northern suppliers.

Sea freight: FCL and LCL

Full container load (FCL) makes sense once your cargo fills roughly 15 cubic metres or more. A 20ft container holds about 28 CBM of usable space and a 40ft high cube around 68 CBM. Below that, less than container load (LCL) is normally cheaper — you pay only for the volume you use, and we consolidate your cargo with other shipments.

Typical transit from South China ports to Mombasa is 28–40 days port to port, depending on whether the service is direct or transships through Salalah, Jebel Ali or Colombo. Add time for loading, documentation and clearance at both ends when you plan.

Air freight

Air makes sense for high-value, low-density, urgent or perishable goods — samples, spare parts, electronics, pharmaceuticals. Transit is typically 4–8 days door to door via Guangzhou or Hong Kong into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Remember that airlines charge on chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight (length × width × height in cm ÷ 5,000).

What affects your cost

• Volume and weight — the single biggest driver. Consolidating orders from several suppliers into one shipment almost always beats shipping them separately.
• Incoterms — an FOB price puts the seller's local costs on them and gives you control of the main carriage. EXW looks cheaper but shifts Chinese inland haulage and export clearance onto you. See our guide to Incoterms 2020.
• Duty and taxes — import duty runs 0–35% under the EAC Common External Tariff, plus 16% VAT, 3.5% Import Declaration Fee and 1.5% Railway Development Levy, all calculated on the CIF value.
• Season — rates rise sharply before Chinese New Year and in the pre-Christmas peak. Book early.

Documents you will need

Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, certificate of origin where a preference is claimed, an Import Declaration Form, and a Certificate of Conformity from a PVoC agent for regulated goods. Missing or inconsistent paperwork is the most common cause of delay at Mombasa — we check yours before the vessel sails, not after it arrives.

Why importers use us

We hold your hand through supplier collection, we tell you what a shipment will actually cost landed rather than quoting a freight rate in isolation, and we clear cargo ourselves rather than handing you to a third party. If you are importing for the first time, we will walk you through it.