One of
the questions we ask every intending exporter is if the commodity or product
they plan to export is available in commercial quantity. We go a step further
to ask if they know the production figures of that product/commodity in their
locality and country. Many people have signed contracts with foreign buyers
only to discover while sourcing for the commodity /product that it is very
scarce.
The
downside of this is that most times, a contract contains a default and penalty
clause which penalizes the supplier in monetary terms if he does not meet up
with the terms of the contract- which in this case is quantity signed. The good
news however is that knowledge of the available quantity relative to demand
informs the production pattern of that commodity or product going forward.
Proper arrangements can be made for increased cultivation or production as the
case may be.
Commercial
quantity most times is at least 17metric
tonnes (17,000kg) or 16,000- 17,000
litres (for liquid contents); this would fill a 20ft container which is
usually the test shipment size that most buyers would require if the cargo is
travelling by sea. For cargo that is travelling by air, the quantity is much
lower- most boxes are packaged as 25kg which most times serves as a sample
order. One of the many benefits of commercial quantity is reduced costs due to
economies of scale; another benefit is repeat business because the commodity is
readily available for export.
Don’t
be too quick to take on a contract before confirming that the product is
available in commercial quantity. Conduct your research, be sure of the supply
base, adopt measures to increase production before embarking on that journey so
that you can run a sustained export business.
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