Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Argentina is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
Argentina Sea Freight from China: routing and transit
Sea Freight into Argentina runs through Buenos Aires, Zárate, Rosario. Clearance is by Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA) and typical dwell before release is 5–12 days.
Argentina's constraint is administrative rather than physical. Import declarations must be filed and approved before the cargo ships, and foreign-exchange access for paying suppliers has been rationed for years — both directly affect whether a DDP structure is workable. Verify the consignee's declaration status and FX position before booking, not after.
Route facts
| Destination country | Argentina |
|---|---|
| Region | Americas |
| Mode | Sea Freight |
| Gateways used | Buenos Aires, Zárate, Rosario |
| Transit, China to gateway | 30–40 calendar days |
| Clearance / dwell | 5–12 days |
| Peak season | Sep–Nov |
Delivery cities on this lane
Each city below has its own guide covering the gateway that serves it, the inland leg after clearance and the local delivery requirements.
- China to Buenos Aires — capital and the dominant national market. Via EZE air / Buenos Aires sea; inland leg same day. Sea Freight guide →
- China to Cordoba — second largest city and automotive centre. Via COR air / Buenos Aires sea; inland leg +1 day. Sea Freight guide →
- China to Rosario — Parana river port and agro-industrial hub. Via EZE air / Rosario sea; inland leg +1 day. Sea Freight guide →
- China to Mendoza — western regional centre and wine industry base. Via MDZ air / Buenos Aires sea; inland leg +2 days. Sea Freight guide →
- China to La Plata — provincial capital with its own port. Via EZE air / La Plata sea; inland leg same day. Sea Freight guide →
- China to Mar del Plata — coastal city and fishing industry base. Via EZE air / Mar del Plata sea; inland leg +1 day. Sea Freight guide →
Rates on this lane are per kilogram of chargeable weight, which is the greater of actual gross weight and L×W×H ÷ 6000. One cubic metre of cargo is treated as about 166.7 kg, so anything lighter than that per cubic metre is billed on the space it occupies rather than on the scale reading. Knowing which side of that line your cargo falls on changes the quote more than any negotiation will.
The consignments that move regularly on this service into Argentina are dominated by hotel furniture (HS 94), where clearance turns on timber due diligence (EUTR / EUDR) and UK upholstery fire regulations, paper packaging (HS 44 / 48) and fasteners (HS 73 / 82 / 83). We publish a handling brief for each, because the difference between a clean clearance and a two-week hold is almost always documentation prepared before the cargo leaves the factory rather than anything that happens in transit.
Ocean cargo on this lane discharges at Buenos Aires, Zárate and Rosario. Which one your container routes through is decided by the sailing we book rather than by you, and it moves the inland leg far more than it moves the ocean rate, so if your consignee sits closer to one of them say so at booking and we will bias the routing that way.
Delivery does not stop at the gateway. We run inland to Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, La Plata and Zarate among others, and each of those has its own destination guide covering the port or airport it clears through, the realistic inland transit to add on top of the figures above, and the local clearance quirks worth knowing before you ship: see all Argentina destinations we cover, 7 in total.
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Additional Information
Duty, tax and documents for Argentina
IVA 21% plus a 10.5% IVA perception and income-tax perception; Mercosur common external tariff of 0–35%. The de-minimis position is USD 400 for courier consignments under the simplified regime.
Conformity: Import declaration (SEDI) required before shipment for most goods; safety certification for electrical products.
Known friction points: Pre-shipment import declaration approval is required; goods shipped without it can be refused. Foreign-currency access constrains duty settlement and supplier payment. Tax perceptions on top of IVA raise the effective landed cost well above the headline rate.
Documents we file under DDP
- Commercial invoice showing HS codes and the true transaction value
- Packing list with carton count, gross and net weight, and dimensions
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin where it reduces the duty rate
- Product certification or conformity documents where the commodity requires them
Packing notes
- Chargeable weight is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 1000 for LCL chargeable volume)
- Use ISPM-15 treated wood for any pallet or crate — untreated timber is a common hold
- Mark every carton with the consignee name, city and carton number of total
- Declare lithium batteries, magnets, liquids and powders before booking, not after
Other modes into Argentina
Duty rates, thresholds and conformity rules change by ministerial decision. The figures here are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your HS code with Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA) or your broker before shipping.
Where these numbers come from
Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA) 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.
Most landed-cost surprises trace back to classification rather than freight. the WCO Harmonized System defines the heading structure every customs administration builds on, and ITC Market Access Map will show you the duty a given heading attracts in this destination.
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.
For a wider view of how importing into Argentina actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Argentina customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.
China to Argentina — Shipping Reference Data
| Main sea gateways | Buenos Aires, Zárate, Rosario |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA) |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | USD 400 for courier consignments under the simplified regime |
| Import tax & duty regime | IVA 21% plus a 10.5% IVA perception and income-tax perception; Mercosur common external tariff of 0–35% |
| Local currency | ARS |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 5–12 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | Import declaration (SEDI) required before shipment for most goods; safety certification for electrical products |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Sea Route
This page covers a Sea freight service from China to Argentina. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Container Loading Planner
Sea freight to Argentina prices by CBM or container — plan your 20GP/40GP/40HQ loading in 3D, compare utilization, and see exactly how many cartons fit before you commit to a booking.
Open Container Planner →Argentina Sea Freight Checklist
- Verify the receiver's customs import capability in Argentina for DDP terms before booking.
- Declare accurate gross weight — VGM misdeclaration delays vessels and triggers fines.
- Ask whether the quote includes destination port charges in Argentina or only ocean freight.
- Reserve loading space 5-7 days before the sailing cut-off for this route during peak season.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Sea DDP Door-to-Door from China to Argentina take?
Sea freight on this route runs about 25–45 calendar days door-to-door, plus roughly 5–12 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into Argentina?
Clearance is handled by Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA). The regime is: IVA 21% plus a 10.5% IVA perception and income-tax perception; Mercosur common external tariff of 0–35%, with a de-minimis position of USD 400 for courier consignments under the simplified regime. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
When does capacity tighten on the China–Argentina lane?
Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb) and Golden Week (early Oct). Book 1–2 weeks earlier in these periods.
What certification is needed to import into Argentina?
For regulated goods, plan for: Import declaration (SEDI) required before shipment for most goods; safety certification for electrical products. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common clearance hold with Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA), so confirm requirements for your HS code before shipping.
Can you ship special cargo (batteries, branded goods) to Argentina?
Yes — battery goods by sea follow UN3480/UN3481 rules with an MSDS; we prepare the dangerous-goods paperwork as part of DDP into Buenos Aires, Zárate, Rosario. Surcharges apply.
What does DDP shipping to Argentina include on this route?
DDP means we quote the freight, the customs entry with Dirección General de Aduanas (ARCA) and last-mile delivery in Argentina together, so you settle once. The duty and tax portion depends on your product's HS code, declared value and the exchange rate at entry, so it is confirmed against your actual goods — the figures on this page are indicative and can move either way.
Inland Delivery Coverage — Argentina
We deliver beyond the arrival gateway. Each city below has its own destination guide covering the gateway it clears through, typical inland transit time and the local customs picture.
Note — these are reference guides, not quotes. The city pages describe routing, gateways and clearance for each destination. They do not carry rate tables. For pricing to any city listed here, use the rate table on this page or ask us for a quote.
- Zarate EZE air / Zarate sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Buenos Aires EZE air / Buenos Aires sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Cordoba COR air / Buenos Aires sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Rosario EZE air / Rosario sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
- Mendoza MDZ air / Buenos Aires sea inland +2 days Guide only — no rates
- La Plata EZE air / La Plata sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Mar del Plata EZE air / Mar del Plata sea inland +1 day Guide only — no rates
Shipping Argentina cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Home Storage Products Furniture & Home Products
- Fashion Textiles, Apparel, Footwear & Leather
- Laboratory Equipment Medical, Laboratory & Precision Instruments
- Locks & Safes Fire, Safety & Traffic Products
- Salon Furniture Beauty, Personal Care & Wellness
- Pet Products Consumer Goods & Gifts
- Umbrellas Consumer Goods & Gifts
- Private Label Products E-commerce & Retail Channels
- Bolts Metal Products & Industrial Components
- CNC Machines General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Industrial Furnaces General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Solar Inverter New Energy, Power & Electrical