The costs of exporting goods are complex and varied. They can generally be divided into domestic costs and foreign costs. The two are divided by “export” (export refers to the departure of goods from the export port): costs incurred before export are domestic costs, such as packaging costs, domestic transportation costs, etc.; costs incurred after export are foreign costs, such as foreign freight, insurance premiums, commissions, etc.
There are 14 types of costs that are usually incurred in export business.
(1) Packaging costs are usually included in the purchase cost, but if the customer has special requirements for the packaging of the goods, the resulting costs are additional packaging costs and should be calculated separately.
(2) Storage costs Before export shipment, goods that need to be stored in warehouses often incur storage costs.
(3) Domestic transportation costs Inland transportation costs incurred before export goods are shipped, usually including truck transportation costs, inland river transportation costs, road and bridge fees, transit costs and loading and unloading fees.
(4) Certification fees The fees paid by exporters for obtaining licenses, quotas, certificates of origin and other certificates. (5) Port area miscellaneous charges are mainly various fees that export goods need to pay at the port terminal before shipment.
(6) Commodity inspection fees are fees incurred by the export commodity inspection agency for inspection of goods according to relevant national regulations and the application of the exporter.
(7) Taxes are taxes and fees levied by the state on export goods, collected and refunded on behalf of the state, usually export tariffs, value-added tax, etc.
(8) Interest on advance payments are the interest incurred by the exporter for the production or purchase of export goods during the period from domestic procurement to receiving payment from foreign importers.
(9) Business expenses are related expenses incurred by exporters in their operations, such as communication fees, transportation fees, etc.
(10) Postal and telecommunications fees and bank fees include communication, certificate review, notification, documentary collection, and the fees incurred by the exporter entrusting the bank to collect payment from foreign customers and conduct credit investigations.
(11) Expected losses include possible losses, leakages and damages.
(12) Export freight costs such as sea, land or air transportation.
(13) Insurance costs are the fees paid by exporters to insurance companies for cargo transportation insurance or export credit insurance.
(14) Commissions are also called buyer’s deposits, which are mainly the remuneration paid by exporters to middlemen for exporting goods.