How much water is hidden in the quotation of Fujian agents?

"Why is the quotation of others 30% lower than mine for the same product?" This was the question raised by Mr. Zhang at the Fujian import and export agency industry exchange meeting last month. As a foreign trade practitioner, have you also encountered similar confusion? Today, we will uncover the mystery behind the local agency import and export quotations in Fujian.

Fujian, as the core area of the Maritime Silk Road, has a high level of import and export trade activity throughout the year, ranking among the top in the country. However, careful practitioners will find that the quotations of different agency companies may vary widely. This is mainly affected by three key factors:

• Port advantages: There are obvious differences in operating costs among different ports such as Xiamen Port and Fuzhou Port
• Service scope: Whether it includes one-stop services such as customs declaration, quality inspection, and logistics
• Hidden costs: Such as warehousing turnover efficiency, abnormal situation handling ability, etc.

Ms. Li recently suffered a loss. She chose an agency with the lowest quotation, only to incur multiple additional costs during transportation. In fact, a professional quotation should include:

• Basic agency fee (usually charged at 0.8%-1.5% of the value of goods)
• Customs declaration and inspection fees (fixed items)
• Transportation and port miscellaneous fees (need to clarify whether it is inclusive)
• Special handling fees (such as cold chain, dangerous goods, etc.)

After researching 20 agency companies, we have summarized three practical tips:

• Item-by-item price comparison: Require the service to be broken down and quoted to avoid "lump-sum" comparison
• Long-term cooperation discounts: A 3%-8% discount can be negotiated if the annual cargo volume exceeds 5 million US dollars
• Lock prices in the off-season: The third quarter is the best window for price negotiation

With the application of blockchain technology, some agencies in Fujian have already achieved:

• Real-time tracking of customs declaration progress
• Intelligent price comparison system
• Abnormal situation early warning

Import and export agency is not the cheaper the better, nor is it the more expensive the more reliable. It is recommended that you:

• Request detailed quotations from more than 3 agencies
• Visit the operation site on-site
• Check historical customer reviews