Who holds what
The importer registers each imported food product with the food and drugs division before it is brought in and holds the import permit where the line needs one. As the Turkish producer we do not register ourselves; we supply the documents the registration needs, the technical data sheet with ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage, our certificates and the analysis report per line so the registration points at the right plant. All of it is sent before the deposit, because the registration runs on the importer’s side and is not counted in the lead time. Where a certificate is asked for that we do not hold, the offer says so before the deposit, not after the container has sailed.
The label
An English label to the national standard: the name of the food, the ingredient list with allergens, metric net weight, storage, the production and expiry dates and the importer’s name and address. For lines in our standard packs we confirm what the export pack carries and what the importer adds; for private label we prepare the content, and the date format is confirmed on the artwork before printing. The importer’s name goes on a sticker where the export pack does not carry it, and the sticker is confirmed before the deposit. The Trinidadian private label page goes through it.
Customs, documents and the route
Trinidad and Tobago applies the Caribbean common external tariff and there is no free trade agreement with Türkiye; the offer states the tariff line per product and the duty that applies on the day, and nothing about duty is printed on this site. The commercial set is the invoice, the packing list per pallet, the certificate of origin, the analysis report and, for pistachio lines, an aflatoxin certificate, listed on the how we work page. Sea freight from Mersin to Port of Spain or Point Lisas, with the transshipment and the transit stated in the offer.
The reefer and the two shelves
The route crosses the tropics and the islands are warm in every season, so chocolate lines are quoted in a reefer year round and stated as chocolate; compound-coated lines that go to the parlour shelf are stated as compound; Turkish delight, sugared almonds and jellies travel dry. The mixed-container page explains how the load is built, each line on its own pallet.
The timeline
Registration first, then the deposit, then production, then the reefer. An importer that has registered our lines once registers the next lines faster, because the data sheets and certificates are already on file, and an importer that sells on to the islands plans the label and the pallet plan for the region from the first order. The Trinidad and Tobago page lists what stays the same on every offer.
How to start
What we need to price it: the lines you want from the product pages, how much of each, and where it lands. Two working days later the written offer comes back with the specification, the case weight and the minimum per line.
A sample goes out before any of that if you want to taste the lines first — free from running production, courier at your cost. The trinidad and tobago: what stays the same on every offer page lists what stays the same on every offer, and the private label page covers putting your own name on the pack.
Does the Turkish producer register in Trinidad?
No. The importer registers each product; we supply the data sheet, certificates and analysis report per line, named in the offer.
When are the documents sent?
Before the deposit, so the registration runs first; it is not counted in the lead time.
Is the container a reefer?
For chocolate lines, yes, year round on this route. Compound lines and dry lines are quoted as the offer states.
