Choosing FCL or LCL
A full container load (FCL) means your goods have the whole 20-foot or 40-foot box to themselves — faster, more secure, and usually better value once your order is large enough to fill most of the space. Less-than-container load (LCL) shares a container with other shippers' cargo, which lowers the cost for smaller volumes but adds time for consolidation at origin and deconsolidation at destination.
Booking from a Chinese port
Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Qingdao and Tianjin are the main gateway ports for cargo heading to East Africa. Your freight forwarder or the Chinese supplier's own forwarder books space with a shipping line and issues a bill of lading once the container is loaded — keep this document safe, as your clearing agent in Rwanda needs it to lodge the import declaration.
Transit time to expect
FCL sailings from Shanghai to Mombasa typically take 22 to 25 days; LCL runs longer, often 30 to 35 days once consolidation delays are factored in. From Dar es Salaam, expect roughly 20 to 30 days from major Chinese ports. Add the road leg from port to Kigali — see our Mombasa route guide or Dar es Salaam route guide — plus clearance time once the container crosses the Rwandan border.
Avoiding demurrage on arrival
Once your container reaches port, shipping lines allow a limited number of free days before charging demurrage — often as little as three to seven days at Mombasa. Have your documentation and clearing agent ready before the vessel arrives, not after, so the container can move quickly. Our guide to avoiding demurrage and detention covers this in detail.
What it costs to bring the container the rest of the way
Landed cost is freight plus customs duty (0–35% under the EAC tariff), 18% VAT, 5% withholding tax, and inland trucking from the border to Kigali. Our guide to container import costs breaks down each of these components with the current rates.
Booking a container from China involves more decisions than it looks — here's how to get it right the first time.