Who holds what
The importer holds the import permit where the line needs one and the registration with the authorities, and clears the consignment at Freetown, where it is checked against the Sierra Leonean standard. As the Turkish producer we do not register in Sierra Leone; we supply the technical data sheet with ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage, our certificates and the analysis report per line, sent before the deposit so the importer’s side runs first. Where a certificate is asked for that we do not hold, the offer says so before the deposit.
The label
An English label: 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 as a sticker; 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. The Sierra Leonean private label page goes through it.
Customs, documents and the route
Sierra Leone applies the West African 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 Freetown, with the transshipment and the transit stated in the offer.
What comes from our factory
The technical data sheet with ingredients, allergens, shelf life and storage; our certificates, food-safety and halal where it applies; the analysis report per lot; and the label content. All of it is named per line in the offer and sent before the deposit, because the permit and the standards check run on the importer’s side and are not counted in the lead time; a wholesaler that serves Freetown and the provinces sends one list and receives one offer.
The reefer and the two shelves
The route and the shelf 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 shop shelf are stated as compound; Turkish delight, sugared almonds and jellies travel dry. An importer that has cleared our lines once clears the next lines faster, because the data sheets and certificates are already on file. The mixed-container page explains how the load is built, and the Sierra Leone page lists what stays the same on every offer.
What to send
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 sierra leone: 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 Sierra Leone?
No. The importer holds the permit and the registration; 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 importer’s side runs first; they are 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.
