How to import from China to Ghana in 2026: costs, timelines and minimums

What you actually pay for

The landed cost of anything imported from China is made of five parts. Most people only budget for the first.

• The goods - the factory or wholesale price, in yuan. Factories quote per piece but sell per carton or per minimum order quantity (MOQ).
• Getting it to the port - inland freight in China, export paperwork, sometimes an agent's fee for consolidating from several suppliers.
• International freight - by sea, priced on the space the cargo takes (cubic metres, CBM); by air, priced on weight (per kilogram, with a volumetric minimum for bulky-but-light goods).
• Duties, VAT and levies at Ghana customs, plus the clearing agent's fee and port handling.
• Delivery from Tema or Kotoka to wherever you are.

How long it takes

Sea freight from China to Tema is about 2 months door to door once the goods leave the factory - a few weeks of production, four to six weeks on the water, then clearing. Air is about 2 weeks. Air costs several times more per unit for anything heavy or bulky, which is why most stock goes by sea and only light, urgent or high-value goods fly.

The minimums problem

Factories set MOQs - often a carton, sometimes several - and the prices you see on 1688 or Alibaba assume you take that minimum. A trader who wants 20 pieces of one thing and 30 of another is too small for the factory and too large to buy retail. This is the gap most first-time importers fall into.

Atrady Business removes it: every product shows a price for a few pieces, a lower price from 10 or more, and the lowest per unit for a full carton. Order any quantity the product allows - the more you take, the less you pay - and mix different products in one order.

Doing it yourself vs. through Atrady

Both routes work. The difference is who carries the minimums, the freight maths and the risk.

• Yourself: find the supplier (1688, Alibaba, a trade fair), negotiate and pay in yuan (usually through an agent or a payment service), book freight with a forwarder, hire a clearing agent at Tema, then arrange delivery. Cheapest per unit at container scale; slowest and riskiest under it.
• Atrady Business: browse the catalog, type a quantity, pick sea or air and see the shipping fee per unit or per carton before you pay - in cedis, by Mobile Money or card. Atrady buys, ships, clears and hands over in Ghana. Under 10 pieces buys like a sample, so you can test a product before committing.
• A hybrid many traders use: test with a few pieces on Atrady, then decide whether the product deserves a container of its own.

Step by step on Atrady Business

1. Create an account (the same login works on buy.atrady.com).
2. Open a product. The price ladder shows what a few pieces, 10 or more, and a carton cost per unit.
3. Tap Buy, choose your colours or sizes and how many of each - or let Atrady mix them.
4. Pick Sea (about 2 months, cheapest) or Air (about 2 weeks). The fee is shown per unit and per carton.
5. Add more products if you like, then pay once. Each product becomes its own order under your account, tracked from your orders page.
6. When it lands: have cartons delivered, or keep them at Atrady's warehouse and take deliveries in any quantity as you sell.