International transit
Cargo from China to Juba by Air and Sea
One price, door to door, duty paid. We move cargo from China to Juba by air and by consolidated sea freight. The rate you see below is the rate you pay, because South Sudan import duty and taxes are already in it.
Air freight from China to Juba
| Route | Cargo category | Weight band | Price per kg | Minimum charge | Terms | Transit time | Included | Excluded | Rate validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China to Juba | General cargo | 5 kg minimum chargeable weight | USD 16 | USD 80 | DDP (delivered duty paid) | 14 working days | Freight, clearance, South Sudan duty and taxes, delivery to Juba | Restricted, regulated and dangerous goods; conformity and permit fees; offloading |
DDP rates include South Sudan import duty and taxes. You pay us, we clear the goods into Juba. Restricted and regulated goods sit outside these rates and are quoted separately.
Air is the right choice when the cargo is light relative to its value, or when waiting is more expensive than flying: spare parts, phones and electronics, medical supplies, samples, pre production items, and anything a customer in Juba is already waiting for.
Air freight is charged on chargeable weight, the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight. A light, bulky carton is priced on the space it takes up, not on what it registers on the scale. Send us the dimensions as well as the weight and we will tell you which one will apply before you commit.
There is a 5 kg minimum chargeable weight. Anything lighter is billed as 5 kg, so a 2 kg parcel and a 5 kg parcel cost the same. If you are sending several small items to the same consignee, send them together.
Sea freight from China to Juba
| Route | Cargo category | Rate per CBM | Currency | Minimum volume | Minimum charge | Terms | Transit time | Included | Excluded | Rate validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China to Juba | General cargo | 950 | USD | Confirm with us | USD 95 | DDP (delivered duty paid) | 60 days | Freight, clearance, South Sudan duty and taxes, delivery to Juba | Restricted, regulated and dangerous goods; conformity and permit fees; offloading | |
| China to Juba | Sensitive cargo | 1,100 | USD | Confirm with us | USD 150 | DDP (delivered duty paid) | 60 days | Freight, clearance, South Sudan duty and taxes, delivery to Juba | Restricted, regulated and dangerous goods; conformity and permit fees; offloading |
These are DDP rates. South Sudan import duty and taxes are already in the figure above. You pay us, we clear the goods into Juba. Restricted and regulated goods sit outside these rates and are quoted separately.
Sea is the right choice for volume. Consolidated sea freight is priced per cubic metre, so you pay for the space your cargo occupies in a shared container rather than for a whole box you cannot fill. It is far cheaper per unit than air and it takes considerably longer.
There is a minimum charge per shipment: USD 95 for general cargo, USD 150 for sensitive cargo. Below that volume you pay the minimum rather than the per CBM calculation, so a very small consignment costs the same as a slightly larger one. We measure the cargo when it reaches our consolidation point in China, and that measurement is what you are billed on, so pack tightly and send small items to the same consignee together.
If you have enough volume to fill a container outright, say so. A full container load is usually cheaper again than paying per CBM:
What "DDP" means on these rates
Both services above are quoted DDP, or delivered duty paid. That is unusual on this corridor and it is the main reason people use the service, so here is exactly what it covers.
The rate includes:
- International freight from China
- Customs clearance at destination
- South Sudan import duty and taxes
- Delivery to Juba
The rate does not include:
- Restricted, regulated and dangerous goods. Lithium batteries, chemicals, aerosols and anything needing a dangerous goods declaration sit outside these rates and are quoted separately.
- Branded goods shipped without written authorisation from the brand owner
- Certificate of Conformity and sector permit fees
- Offloading at the delivery address
Elsewhere on this site we are explicit that South Sudan duty and taxes are assessed on your goods and are not part of a freight rate. These two rates are the exception: they are door to door prices with the tax built in. You pay us, and we clear the goods.
One thing to confirm before you book. Whether we collect from your supplier's factory, or your supplier delivers into our consolidation point in China, affects what you pay. Tell us where the cargo is and we will confirm the position for your shipment.
General cargo or sensitive cargo?
Sea freight is rated in two bands. The difference isn't arbitrary: it reflects how much harder the goods are to clear and what they attract on assessment.
General cargo is the ordinary case: furniture, hardware, building materials, machinery parts, packaging, plain textiles, most industrial supplies.
Sensitive cargo typically covers goods that carry higher duty exposure, higher value per cubic metre, or additional documentary and inspection requirements. In practice that usually means electronics and phones, cosmetics and personal care products, food and consumables, medicines and medical supplies, branded goods, liquids and powders, and items containing batteries or magnets.
These are categories, not a definitive list, and a single shipment can contain both. Describe the cargo accurately when you ask for a rate and we will confirm which band applies before you book. A reclassification after the goods have shipped is a far worse outcome than a higher rate quoted honestly at the start.
Air or sea: how to choose
| Air | Sea | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | USD 16 per kg | USD 950 per CBM general, USD 1,100 sensitive |
| Priced on | Chargeable weight, per kg | Volume, per CBM |
| Minimum charge | 5 kg chargeable weight (USD 80) | USD 95 general · USD 150 sensitive |
| Transit time | 14 working days | 60 days |
| Best for | Light, valuable, urgent | Heavy, bulky, planned |
| Typical cargo | Spare parts, electronics, medical supplies, samples | Furniture, hardware, building materials, retail stock |
| Both are | DDP, duty and taxes included | DDP, duty and taxes included |
About six weeks separates the two. That is the real decision: 14 working days by air against roughly two months by sea. Published transit times describe a normal run with complete paperwork, and they aren't guarantees. What moves the date is documents, permits and conformity certification, rather than the journey itself.
The way to decide is not to compare the two rates. It is to work out what a week of waiting costs you. A stopped site, an idle machine or a customer buying elsewhere will outweigh the air premium on a small consignment. None of it comes close to justifying air on a container's worth of tiles.
Air versus road and sea freight compared
Get a quotation
Tell us what you are shipping
Send us the cargo description, weight or volume, and the pickup and delivery addresses. We reply with a written rate, the transit time and the documents you will need.
How a China to Juba shipment works
- You tell us what you are shipping. Description, weight, dimensions, and where the goods are in China.
- We confirm the rate and the category, in writing, before anything moves.
- Cargo is received at our China consolidation point, measured and weighed. What we measure is what you are billed on.
- It travels by air, or consolidated into a sea container.
- We clear it at destination and pay the duty and taxes assessed on it.
- We deliver to Juba and you take the goods.
Because the rate is DDP, the steps that normally land on the importer are ours: the declaration, the assessment, the payment. What stays with you is making sure the goods are legal to import and properly described.
What we need from your supplier
Get these right before the cargo is sealed and the rest is routine:
- A commercial invoice showing the price actually paid, in the currency paid
- A packing list produced from the actual packing, piece by piece, with marks that match the cartons
- Accurate descriptions. "General goods" is not a description. Material, function and model.
- Full disclosure of anything regulated. Batteries inside devices, liquids, powders, aerosols, food, cosmetics, medicines. Declaring these properly is cheaper than the alternative in every single case.
A DDP rate depends on the goods being what the paperwork says they are. An undeclared battery or a misdescribed consignment is the one thing that reliably breaks a door to door price.
What we don't ship
A few things are outside these rates, and a few we won't carry at all.
- Never, at any price. Narcotics, weapons and ammunition, counterfeit goods, wildlife products, currency and bullion, and anything under sanctions.
- Not at the rates above. Dangerous goods, chemicals, aerosols, perishables, live animals, vehicles and oversized cargo. We can often still move them, they are just quoted separately.
- Only once the permission exists. Medicines, food, agricultural goods, and anything needing a Certificate of Conformity.
Lithium batteries deserve their own warning on this lane. A huge share of what ships from China contains them: phones, laptops, power banks, cordless tools, solar equipment, electric bikes, anything with a rechargeable cell. They are regulated for transport whether or not the invoice mentions them, they are excluded from the DDP rates above, and an undeclared one can get a whole consolidated load offloaded. Tell us, and we will quote it properly.
The full list of what we don't ship
Certificate of Conformity
South Sudan operates a pre-export verification of conformity programme, and goods within its scope need a Certificate of Conformity obtained in China, before shipment.
This cannot be fixed after the goods arrive, and it is the single most common reason a new China shipment gets stuck. Raise it with your supplier at purchase order stage, not at booking.
If you would rather handle clearance yourself
Some importers prefer to clear in their own name. Usually that is because they are registered with the South Sudan National Revenue Authority, want the entry in their own records, or are claiming relief of some kind. That is a different service and a different price: we move the cargo, you clear it.
- How transit cargo moves through Kenya
- South Sudan customs clearance
- A buyer's checklist for importing from China
Tell us which arrangement you want and we will quote it properly.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does the China to Juba rate really include South Sudan duty and taxes?
Yes. Both the air rate and the sea rates on this page are DDP, delivered duty paid. South Sudan import duty and taxes are included in the figure, we clear the goods, and we deliver them to Juba. This is the exception to the rule that applies everywhere else on this site, where duties are assessed on your goods separately.
What is the difference between general and sensitive cargo?
Sensitive cargo carries higher duty exposure, higher value per cubic metre, or extra documentary and inspection requirements. Usually electronics, cosmetics, food, medicines, branded goods, liquids, powders and anything containing batteries or magnets. Describe your cargo when you ask for a rate and we will confirm which band applies before you book.
How long does it take?
14 working days by air and 60 days by sea, from China to Juba. Those describe a normal run with complete paperwork. They are estimates, not guarantees. What actually moves the date is documentation: a missing Certificate of Conformity or a permit left until arrival will cost you more days than the journey ever will.
Is there a minimum charge?
Yes, on both services. Air freight has a 5 kg minimum chargeable weight, so anything lighter is billed as 5 kg. Sea freight has a minimum charge of USD 95 for general cargo and USD 150 for sensitive cargo. If you are sending several small items to the same consignee, sending them together is cheaper than sending them separately.
How is sea freight measured?
By cubic metre. We measure the cargo when it is received at our consolidation point in China, and that measurement is what you are billed on. Pack efficiently, because poorly packed cargo more because it occupies more space.
How is air freight measured?
On chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, subject to the 5 kg minimum. Volumetric weight converts the space a shipment occupies into a weight equivalent, so a light but bulky carton prices above its scale weight. Send dimensions as well as weight.
Can you ship batteries, cosmetics or food from China?
Sometimes, but not at the rates on this page. Lithium batteries, chemicals, aerosols and dangerous goods are excluded from the DDP rates and are quoted separately. Food, cosmetics and medicines carry additional regulatory requirements in South Sudan. Tell us exactly what the goods are and we will tell you what is possible.
Do I still need a Certificate of Conformity?
If your goods fall within the scope of South Sudan's pre-export verification of conformity programme, yes, and it must be obtained in China before the goods ship. A DDP rate covers duty and taxes; it doesn't remove a standards requirement. See Certificate of Conformity.
Can you collect from my supplier's factory in China?
Tell us where the cargo is and we will confirm. Whether we collect from the supplier or they deliver into our consolidation point affects the price, so it is worth settling before you book.