How to Ship Products from India: A Complete Logistics Guide

Shipping products from India to international destinations involves multiple steps, stakeholders, and decisions. Here's a complete guide to navigating Indian logistics.

Sea Freight vs Air Freight

Sea freight is the standard for most India exports — it's significantly cheaper per unit but takes 4-8 weeks depending on destination. Air freight is 5-10x more expensive but takes 3-7 days. Use sea freight for: bulk orders, non-urgent shipments, heavy items. Use air freight for: samples, urgent orders, high-value small items.

Container Types

• **20-foot container**: Standard size, holds 25-28 tonnes (weight-limited for stone/heavy goods)

• **40-foot container**: Double the volume but same weight limit as 20ft

• **40-foot High Cube**: Extra height — good for tall furniture or bulky items

• **LCL (Less than Container Load)**: Shared container for smaller shipments

Key Indian Ports

JNPT (Nhava Sheva) — Mumbai: India's largest container port. Mundra — Gujarat: Growing rapidly. Chennai — South India. Tuticorin — South India. Kandla — Gujarat: Bulk cargo. For North India, JNPT and Mundra are the most common.

Documentation

Essential documents: Commercial invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading (sea) or Airway Bill (air), certificate of origin, fumigation certificate (for wood products), and any product-specific certificates (phytosanitary, quality test reports).

Incoterms

Understand the key terms: EXW (Ex Works — you arrange everything from factory), FOB (Free on Board — supplier delivers to port, you handle shipping), CIF (Cost Insurance Freight — supplier arranges shipping to destination port), DDP (Delivered Duty Paid — supplier handles everything to your door).