Who holds what
The importer holds the import licence and registers each imported food product with the food and drug authority before it is brought in. 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.
Halal, line by line
Lines with ingredients of animal origin, gelatine in jellies above all, travel with our halal certificate, and the offer names the certifying body per line so the importer can check that the Maldivian authority recognises it before ordering. Lines without such ingredients are stated as such on the data sheet. 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: 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 Maldivian private label page goes through it.
Customs, documents and the route
There is no free trade agreement between the Maldives and 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, with the halal certificates per line where they apply. Sea freight from Mersin to Malé, with the transshipment and the transit stated in the offer.
The reefer and the cool chain
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, and they need a cool store in Malé and a cool box on the boat; Turkish delight, sugared almonds and jellies travel dry. An importer that has registered our lines once registers 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 Maldives page lists what stays the same on every offer.
Asking for a price
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 maldives: 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 the Maldives?
No. The importer holds the licence and registers each product; we supply the data sheet, certificates, halal certificate 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. Dry lines travel dry; a mixed load is quoted as the offer states.
