Americas

Shipping from China to Paita

China → Paita · via PIU air / Paita sea · clearance by SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas

Cargo handling on the China–Paita lane.

Paita is northern Peru's agro-export port, and it is served through PIU air / Paita sea. That combination is what actually sets your delivery date on this lane — allow +1 day for the inland leg on top of clearance.

On the destination side, SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas handles clearance; budget 3–8 days of dwell before the cargo is released.

Import duty and tax position for Paita

SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas assesses duty and tax on cargo arriving for Paita consignees. Current regime: IGV 18%; duty 0–11%, with 0% on most goods under the China–Peru free trade agreement, with a de-minimis position of USD 200 for courier consignments.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: Certificate of origin for FTA preference; DIGEMID or DIGESA registration for health and food products. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Peru: FTA preference requires a valid certificate of origin. Health, food and cosmetic products need consignee-side registration before arrival. Chancay's inland connections are still maturing — confirm the final trucking arrangement.

How this lane actually runs

The Chancay megaport opened in late 2024 and created the first direct Shanghai–South America service, cutting roughly a week off the traditional Callao routing that transships in Mexico or Panama. For cargo destined to Lima it is now worth quoting Chancay and Callao separately — the difference in transit is material, and Chancay is positioning itself as a redistribution hub for the whole west coast.

Air gateways used	LIM (Lima Jorge Chávez)
Air transit, China to gateway	4–6 business days
Sea gateways used	Callao, Chancay, Paita
Sea transit, China to gateway	22–30 calendar days to Chancay, 26–34 to Callao
Gateway serving Paita	PIU air / Paita sea
Inland leg to Paita	+1 day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	3–8 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Paita (Peru) freight lane — Handling on the PIU air / Paita sea routing serving Paita.

Pre-shipment checklist for Paita

Book earlier than the transit time suggests during Sep–Nov, when space on this lane tightens.
Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Peru duty rate against it yourself.
Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.
Plan around the China-side windows too: Chinese New Year and Golden Week both compress capacity on the Peru lane.
Confirm the consignee in Paita can act as importer of record — SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
Budget for the inland leg: +1 day beyond gateway clearance to reach Paita.

Air, sea or overland into Paita?

Mode	Transit to gateway	Best suited to
✈️ Air Freight	4–6 business days	time-critical, high-value and low-volume cargo
🚢 Sea Freight	22–30 calendar days to Chancay, 26–34 to Callao	volume cargo where cost per kilo matters more than speed

Transit shown is China departure to the Peru gateway and excludes the +1 day inland leg to Paita and 3–8 days of clearance.

Mode guides for Paita

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Paita take?

China to the Peru gateway is 4–6 business days by air, 22–30 calendar days to Chancay, 26–34 to Callao by sea. On top of that, allow 3–8 days of clearance with SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas and a +1 day inland leg to Paita.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Paita?

SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas applies: IGV 18%; duty 0–11%, with 0% on most goods under the China–Peru free trade agreement. 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 Paita.

Which port or airport does cargo for Paita clear through?

Cargo for Paita is routed via PIU air / Paita sea. Sea gateways for Peru are Callao, Chancay, Paita; air gateways are LIM (Lima Jorge Chávez). We pick whichever gives the shortest total door time for your address.

What certification do I need for Peru?

For regulated goods, plan for: Certificate of origin for FTA preference; DIGEMID or DIGESA registration for health and food products. Missing conformity paperwork is the single most common cause of a hold, and in most cases it cannot be remedied once the cargo has arrived.

Can you ship batteries or sensitive cargo to Paita?

Yes. Battery cargo by air follows IATA PI 965–970 depending on how the cells are packed, and moves on certified channels via LIM (Lima Jorge Chávez). Surcharges apply and the declaration has to be made before booking.

Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Paita?

Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 22–30 calendar days to Chancay, 26–34 to Callao by sea versus 4–6 business days by air to the Peru gateway, before clearance and the +1 day inland leg. The crossover point is normally somewhere between 100 and 300 kg depending on the density of your cargo.

Other delivery cities in Peru

All Peru freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Peru 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 SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 8 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 139 industry guides →

Checking the Peru duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by SUNAT — Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas 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 Peru actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Peru 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 Paita. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

Sea Freight from China: How to import from China to your country via Ocean Shipping — SINO Shipping. 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 Paita

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a published rate card, because the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we will come back with a full DDP figure.

Request a quote → See the Peru route page →

Customs clearance in Peru

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

Peru clearance requirements →