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🚢 Sea Freight

Sea Freight from China to Cali

China → Cali · via CLO air / Buenaventura sea · clearance by DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales

Sea Freight from China to Cali, Colombia — cargo handling at the departure terminal
Cargo handling on the China–Cali lane.

Freight from China into Cali clears through CLO air / Buenaventura sea. Cali is south-western industrial city near the Pacific port, and the inland leg is same-day, so the clearance date is effectively the delivery date.

Clearance itself is handled by DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales, and typical dwell at the gateway runs 4–10 days.

Duty, tax and clearance into Cali

Imports into Colombia are cleared by DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales. The headline position is: IVA 19%; duty 0–20%, with a 10–40% tariff applied to some textile and footwear imports. The de-minimis threshold is USD 200 for courier consignments.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: INVIMA registration for food, cosmetics and medical devices; conformity certificates for regulated electricals. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Colombia: Textile and footwear tariffs are set to discourage undervaluation — customs valuation challenges are common. INVIMA registration must be held by the consignee before arrival for regulated goods.

Routing and transit on this lane

Cartagena on the Caribbean coast is the fastest and best-connected gateway, and it is the natural choice for Bogotá and Medellín despite the inland trucking. Buenaventura on the Pacific is closer to Cali but has a heavier congestion history. Textile and footwear imports carry protective tariffs designed to slow low-priced Asian goods, so classify these carefully.

Sea gateways usedCartagena, Buenaventura, Barranquilla
Sea transit, China to gateway26–34 calendar days
Gateway serving CaliCLO air / Buenaventura sea
Inland leg to CaliSame day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell4–10 days
Peak season to plan aroundSep–Nov
Container terminal operations used on the China to Cali (Colombia) freight lane
Handling on the CLO air / Buenaventura sea routing serving Cali.

Before you book: Cali checklist

  • Confirm the consignee in Cali can act as importer of record — DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
  • Put the Cali delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
  • Get the conformity paperwork moving early: INVIMA registration for food, cosmetics and medical devices; conformity certificates for regulated electricals.
  • Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Colombia duty rate against it yourself.
  • Budget for the inland leg: same-day delivery beyond gateway clearance to reach Cali.
  • Photograph carton markings and seal numbers before departure — it makes any claim far easier to settle.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Cali take?

China to the Colombia gateway is 26–34 calendar days. On top of that, allow 4–10 days of clearance with DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales and a same-day inland leg to Cali.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Cali?

DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales applies: IVA 19%; duty 0–20%, with a 10–40% tariff applied to some textile and footwear imports. The de-minimis position is USD 200 for courier consignments. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Cali.

Which port or airport does cargo for Cali clear through?

Cargo for Cali is routed via CLO air / Buenaventura sea. Sea gateways for Colombia are Cartagena, Buenaventura, Barranquilla; air gateways are BOG (Bogotá), MDE (Medellín), CLO (Cali). We pick whichever gives the shortest total door time for your address.

Can you ship batteries or sensitive cargo to Cali?

Yes. Battery cargo by sea moves under UN3480/UN3481 with an MSDS, and the dangerous-goods documentation is prepared as part of the booking into Cartagena, Buenaventura, Barranquilla. Surcharges apply and space is more limited than for general cargo.

Can you deliver door-to-door in Cali?

Yes. Delivery to a Cali address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales, and the same-day inland leg. Confirm whether your consignee wants the goods at a warehouse, a marketplace fulfillment center or a shop front, because the last-mile requirement differs.

When is the busiest time on the China–Colombia lane?

Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year in January or February and Golden Week in early October. Book one to two weeks earlier in those periods.

Other delivery cities in Colombia

All Colombia freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Colombia change by ministerial decision, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your own HS code with DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 10 月 2026.

Shipping by industry

This page covers the route and clearance picture for the destination. Packing, classification and the compliance step that actually holds a shipment depend on what you are sending — these guides cover that by commodity.

All 60 industry guides →

Checking the Colombia duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by DIAN — Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.

If you want to sanity-check a duty figure yourself, start from the heading rather than the product name — the WCO Harmonized System is the underlying nomenclature, and the WTO Tariff & Trade Data portal holds the applied rates by country pair.

For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.

On the origin side, export declaration and any commodity inspection requirement fall under China Customs (GACC); we handle that filing as part of the service, but the requirement is theirs, not ours.

For a wider view of how importing into Colombia actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Colombia customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.

Watch: the process behind this route

This guide covers routing and clearance for Cali. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

LCL vs FCL | Difference Between Full Container Load & Less than Container Load | Which is better ? — 10 Min For Supply Chain. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.

Get a rate for Cali

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a rate card: the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we price it properly.

Answer these and you get a real price, not a range. These are the exact figures a carrier needs before it will quote. Fill them in once and we can price your cargo the same day — leave them out and we have to come back and ask, which is what turns an hour into a week.

kg
ctn
Carton sizeoptional
× × cm
m³
ctr
Built-in battery?* Lithium cells are dangerous goods.
Someone else's brand?* Logos you are not authorised to ship.
Magnetic product?* Speakers, motors, magnets.
Why these three decide everything

They determine whether your cargo can fly, and on which service. A declared battery changes the price; an undeclared one grounds the shipment at the airport and you pay storage while it sits. Unauthorised brands are seized at customs and the freight is lost with them. Magnetic goods need a field test — routine, but it has to be booked ahead. Telling us now costs a click; telling us later costs the shipment.

Sea or air?*
Tick both and we quote both.
When should it move?optional
Photographs of the goodsoptional
    Your details are used to prepare this quotation and nothing else.

    See the Colombia route page →

    Customs clearance in Colombia

    Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

    Colombia clearance requirements →

    Priced routes to Colombia