Eastern DR Congo is landlocked from the sea by roughly 2,000 kilometres of road. Pretending otherwise wastes everyone's time, so here is exactly how a container reaches you and how long each leg takes.
Lot graded, cut-tested, bagged, palletised and staged. Container inspected for cleanliness and odour, then loaded and sealed under supervision.
Bonded truck to the Kasindi crossing. Export customs, phytosanitary inspection and documentation.
Transit through Uganda under bond. Verification analysis is drawn along this corridor, giving you a second-country lab bulletin.
Onward haul to the port of Mombasa, Kenya. Port entry, terminal handling and vessel allocation.
Mombasa to your discharge port. Transit time depends on routing and transhipment — Northern Europe typically 28–35 days, US East Coast 35–45, Gulf and Asia shorter.
Documents presented per the agreed incoterm. Full document set travels with the consignment; scanned copies are sent at loading.
Our primary logistics partner, handling forwarding, corridor transport coordination and port operations.
Approved secondary forwarder for DRC-side clearance and transport.
Approved secondary forwarder providing corridor capacity and redundancy.
Long-standing working relationships with the customs and phytosanitary services at Kasindi, which is what keeps a bonded truck from sitting at the frontier for a week.
| Incoterm | Risk transfers | We cover | You cover | Typical lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOB Mombasa | On board at Mombasa | Inland transport, export clearance, terminal handling, loading | Ocean freight, insurance, destination charges, import clearance | 4–6 weeks to vessel |
| CFR destination port | On board at Mombasa | Everything to FOB, plus ocean freight to your port | Insurance, destination charges, import clearance | 7–10 weeks |
| CIF destination port | On board at Mombasa | Everything to CFR, plus marine insurance | Destination charges, import clearance | 7–10 weeks |
| DAP named place | At the named destination | Everything to the agreed destination excluding import duty and VAT | Import duty, VAT, unloading | 8–12 weeks |
Scanned copies are issued at loading so your customs broker can prepare in advance; originals follow per the agreed route.
Being straight about this is more useful than a promise nobody can keep. The corridor has three real variables:
Usually a day. Can extend during peak periods or documentation queries. Mitigated by preparing the file before the truck moves.
Space at the port is the least predictable leg in peak season. We book ahead and quote lead times with that in mind rather than assuming the best case.
The Beni–Kasindi leg is affected by heavy rain. Our planning windows include this; harvest and shipping calendars are set around it.
We quote lead times that hold in normal conditions and tell you promptly when something changes. A buyer who knows about a two-week slip early can plan around it; one who finds out at the discharge port cannot.
Regular destinations. Others quoted on request — if your port is not listed, ask.
Tell us your target profile, volume and destination port. Our export desk replies within two business days with available lots, a cut-test report and an indicative offer.