A practical, end-to-end guide for Ghanaian importers — from choosing what to buy through to clearing your container at Tema. Written by the people who ship it.
Ghana is where the largest share of our enquiries comes from, and the pattern in first-time importing is remarkably consistent. Goods bought from a photograph. A price that turned out not to include freight or duty. A supplier who was a trader, not a factory. Documents that did not match, holding the container at Tema while demurrage accrued.
Every one of those is avoidable, and none of the fixes are complicated.
Not "tiles" but 600×600 polished porcelain, water absorption class, thickness, and the quantity in square metres. A price quoted against a vague description is quoted for the cheapest thing that matches it.
Tile and sanitary ware come from Foshan. Electronics from Shenzhen. Furniture from Foshan and Dongguan. Buying tile from an electronics trader costs you a middleman's margin for nothing.
Business licence, export history, and a short unedited video of the production line. A real factory finds this trivial. Pay only into a corporate account matching the invoice — never a personal account.
For custom goods, approve a pre-production sample made from bulk materials. Keep a sealed golden sample. It settles every later argument.
IDF, ICUMS declaration, certificate of origin, and any GSA conformity requirement for your product. Documents that do not match each other are the most common cause of delay at Tema.
Standard terms are 30% deposit, 70% before shipment. That word "before" is your only leverage. Use it — inspect, get photographs, then release.
If you are buying from several suppliers, combine them into one container. One document set, one clearance, materially lower cost than three separate shipments.
Have your clearing agent lined up before arrival, with the full document set in hand. Demurrage starts quickly and is entirely avoidable.
The factory price is rarely more than 55–70% of what the goods cost you on your yard. Budget for all of it before you commit.
Ask any supplier or forwarder for the all-in landed cost per unit at your warehouse door. If they cannot answer, you do not yet have a quote.
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Enquiry to quotation | 1–5 working days |
| Sampling | 7–20 days |
| Production | 20–60 days by category |
| Inspection and loading | 3–7 days |
| Sea transit to Tema | 30–42 days |
| Clearance at Tema | 3–10 days |
| Total, realistically | 2.5–4 months |
Send us the product on WhatsApp and we will tell you what it should cost landed at Tema, the realistic minimum order, and how long it will actually take.
