This page is part of the pricing pillar and explains the scope behind the number the pillar publishes. If you are holding two quotes that do not match, start here rather than with the headline figures.
Quick answer
What does an FOB price for shisha charcoal include?
Our FOB Semarang, Indonesia price covers the product, export packing at the quoted tier, inland trucking to the port, container stuffing, the independent surveyor, the origin dangerous-goods paperwork, terminal handling at origin, the export document set, and the laboratory certificate of analysis and third-party lab report that ship with every container. It does not cover ocean freight or destination port charges.
At a glance
- Incoterm quoted
- FOB Semarang (EXW, CFR, CIF on request)
- Inside the price
- Product, export packing at the quoted tier, inland trucking, stuffing, surveyor, origin handling, documents, COA and third-party lab report
- Billed separately
- Ocean freight, destination handling
- Documents at no charge
- commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, safety data sheet, certificate of analysis, third-party laboratory report
- Biggest variable between quotes
- Packaging tier, then print run
- Verified
- 2026-10-09
1. What FOB covers here
Definition
FOB (Free On Board)
FOB (Free On Board) means the seller's price ends when the goods are loaded on board the vessel at the named port of loading — everything from the factory to that point is the seller's cost, and everything after it is the buyer's.
2. Included and excluded, line by line
The lists below are the FOB price's scope line by line: what it carries, what is billed separately, and the documents that ship at no charge.
Inside the FOB price
- export documentation
- terminal handling at the port of loading
- independent surveyor
- dangerous-goods paperwork and declaration at origin
- container stuffing
- pallets
- thermal blanket
- silica desiccant
- inland trucking from the factory to the port
- telex release
- certificate of origin
- laboratory certificate of analysis (COA)
- third-party laboratory report
Charged separately
| Item | Note |
|---|---|
| ocean freight | quoted by your forwarder, or by us under CFR/CIF on request |
| terminal handling at the destination port | buyer's account |
Documents issued at no charge
- commercial invoice
- packing list
- bill of lading
- certificate of origin
- safety data sheet
- certificate of analysis
- third-party laboratory report
The certificate of analysis and the third-party laboratory report are on that list too. Both are real laboratory work with a real cost, carried inside the ton price rather than billed on top — every container ships with them.
The independent surveyor
An independent surveyor inspects the load before shipment. The factory pays, and the cost sits inside the FOB price.
The factory appoints the surveyor at stuffing by default, usually Carsurin, SGS or Beckjorindo. A buyer may nominate their own surveyor instead.
3. Packaging tier — the second-biggest driver
Packaging tier is the most common reason two FOB quotes for the same charcoal differ.
From cheapest to most expensive, the tiers are:
- bulk
- inner plastic
- inner box
- printed inner box + master box
Moving up this ladder is the single most common reason two FOB quotes differ. A bulk-loaded container and a printed-inner-box container are different products from a costing point of view, even when the charcoal inside is identical.
Per-tier adders are quoted with your specification rather than published, because they move with the print run below.
Print run changes the packaging cost
Packaging prices assume a print run of 25,000 inner boxes and 2,500 master boxes. Below those quantities the packaging component can as much as double. Custom-printed packaging starts at 25,000 inner boxes, from 2,000 pieces per design.
Packaging tiers, materials and photographs Private label and custom printing
4. EXW, FOB, CFR and CIF — what moves between us
We quote FOB. EXW, CFR, CIF are calculated case by case on request, because they need a live freight rate for your lane.
| Incoterm | Seller pays to | Buyer picks up from |
|---|---|---|
| EXW | Goods available at the factory gate | Loading, inland trucking, export clearance, handling, freight and everything after |
| FOB | Loaded on board at the port of loading, including export clearance, handling, surveyor and documents | Ocean freight, insurance, destination handling, duty and inland delivery |
| CFR | Destination port, ocean freight included | Insurance, destination handling, duty and inland delivery |
| CIF | Destination port, ocean freight and marine insurance included | Destination handling, duty and inland delivery |
Where the dangerous-goods surcharge sits
The carrier's dangerous-goods surcharge sits on the freight side. It is inside a CFR or CIF quote and does not apply to an FOB price, which ends once the goods are loaded.
Important
This matters when you compare quotes. A supplier claiming their FOB price "includes the DG surcharge" is describing something that does not exist on the FOB side: the surcharge is a carrier charge on the freight, so it appears in a CFR or CIF quote and nowhere else.
5. Quote-comparison checklist
Before comparing two numbers, make each supplier answer these. Any one of them can account for a gap that looks like a price difference.
-
Incoterm and named port
Is it EXW, FOB, CFR or CIF, and from which port? An EXW number is not comparable to an FOB one.
-
Packaging tier
Bulk, inner plastic, inner box, or printed inner box in a master carton?
-
Print run assumed
How many inner and master boxes does the packaging price assume? Below the baseline the packaging component can double.
-
Grade and screening
How many screening passes, and what ash figure is guaranteed? A single-screened grade should not be priced against a multi-screened one.
-
Net tonnes per container
How many tons actually load? Price per ton matters less than price per container if the tonnages differ.
-
Documents included
Which documents come with the container, and which are billed? Ask specifically about the COA and whether a third-party lab report is included.
-
Surveyor
Is an independent surveyor included, and who appoints them?
-
Validity
How many days does the quote hold, and what triggers a re-quote?