How buying from Orivex Exports works

Eight stages, from your first message to the vessel at Berbera and the account afterwards. For each one: where it happens, who answers for it, what we do and what goes on file.

Start an RFQ See what goes on record

The eight stages

Stage 1Brief
Stage 2Source
Stage 3Identify
Stage 4Aggregate
Stage 5Prepare
Your decision
Stage 6Document
Stage 7Ship
Stage 8Account

In Somaliland
From Canada
Your decision

The eight stages: where each happens, who answers for it, what we do and what goes on file
Stage	What we do	Goes on file
Stage 1BriefYour office and CanadaHamza Abdi, Canada	Reply by email or WhatsApp, usually within one working day Agree the specification with you in writing Say so plainly when we cannot supply something What can go wrong A price can be quoted for a grade nobody has defined, and the argument starts when the goods arrive.	RFQ reference Written specification
Stage 2SourceSanaag, Sahil and TogdheerAbdirahman Hussein, Hargeisa	Buy from harvesters and graders in Sanaag, Sahil and Togdheer Record every purchase: who, where, when and what we paid What can go wrong Resin can pass through several hands before export, with no record of whose trees it came from.¹	Purchase records
Stage 3IdentifyAt the point of purchaseAbdirahman Hussein, Hargeisa	Judge the type by eye and write it down, with the collection area Buy only from trees whose ownership is not in disputeOur rule, self-declared Buy from harvesters who keep to tapping limits and rest periodsOur rule, self-declared Arrange a laboratory analysis of the lot when you ask for one What can go wrong Species can arrive mixed, and the eye cannot always tell. A 2019 study found the marker of a second species in 9 of 13 commercial oils sold as pure Boswellia carterii.²	Type and collection area of each purchase
Stage 4AggregateSomalilandAbdirahman Hussein, Hargeisa	Bring small purchases together to make up the quantity Give the lot its number Open the lot list: the collection area and date of everything in the lot What can go wrong Small parcels from many collectors can be pooled with no record, and the origin is lost at the first pile.	Lot number Lot list: collection area and date
Stage 5PrepareSomalilandAbdirahman Hussein, Hargeisa	Clean, sort and grade to the specification agreed with you Send you photographs and a graded sample of the lot itself What can go wrong The sample can come from one sack and the shipment from another.	Grade and weight of the lot Photographs of the lot Sample sent to you
Your decisionYou	You approve the sample, and we agree the terms in a contract. Until then you have ordered nothing, and nothing ships before terms are agreed.	Your approval of the sample The signed contract
Stage 6DocumentSomalilandAbdirahman Hussein, Hargeisa	Pack in 25 kg woven bags, or as you specify, and mark each bag with the lot number Complete the lot list, bag by bag Commercial invoice and packing list Certificate of origin through the Somaliland Chamber of Commerce Phytosanitary certificate from the agriculture ministry Laboratory analysis and a safety data sheet when you have asked for them What can go wrong Papers can be put together at the last minute, and your customs broker is the one who finds the mismatch.	Bag count and weights as packed Invoice and packing list Certificate of origin Phytosanitary certificate Laboratory report, if ordered
Stage 7ShipBy road to the port of BerberaAbdirahman Hussein, Hargeisa	FOB Berbera as standard CIF to your port on request Air freight for small, urgent lots What can go wrong Goods can sit at the port while buyer and seller work out who was meant to book the freight.	Shipping marks as packed Transport document from the carrier
Stage 8Account and follow-upCanadaHamza Abdi, Canada	Payment by bank transfer or letter of credit, as the contract says One contact for anything that comes up after arrival The written specification and the lot record are kept for the next order What can go wrong Once the goods have left, there can be nobody to answer for them.	Record of your payment Notes for the next order

The home page shows the same eight stages as a lot file that fills in as you read.

Samples and first orders

Samples: Graded samples, usually 100 g to 1 kg per grade, sent by courier, DHL or similar. They are drawn from the lot on offer, so the order matches what you approved. Request a sample.
First orders: Small first orders are welcome, so that you can test the material and our service before committing to volume.

Documents

Who issues each paper, when you get it, and what is not available.

Documents, who issues them and when you receive them
Document	What it shows	Issued by	You receive it	Status
Written specification	Material, type, grade, quantity, packing and terms as agreed with you	Orivex Exports, agreed with you	Before you order	Standard
Sample and photographs of the lot	A graded sample and photographs of the lot on offer	Orivex Exports	Before you order	Standard
Commercial invoice	Lot numbers, grades, weights and bag counts	Orivex Exports	Every shipment	Standard
Packing list	Lot numbers, grades, weights and bag counts, bag by bag	Orivex Exports	Every shipment	Standard
Lot list	Each bag traced back to its collection area and date	Orivex Exports	Every shipment	Standard
Certificate of origin	Where the goods were producedTariff preference lists name Somalia, not Somaliland, so expect the origin to be recorded as Somalia (SO). Ask your broker how to declare it.^3,4	Somaliland Chamber of Commerce	Every shipment	Standard
Phytosanitary certificate	Plant-health inspection of the consignmentIssued in Somaliland, not by Somalia’s IPPC contact point in Mogadishu. Annex XI of EU Regulation 2019/2072 does not list natural gums and resins among the products that need one. If your market requires an official certificate for this heading, tell us before you order.^5,6	Somaliland agriculture ministry	Every shipment	Standard
Bill of lading or air waybill	The carrier’s receipt and contract of carriage	The carrier	Every shipment	Standard
Insurance certificate	Cargo insurance to your portUnder CIF the seller’s obligation is minimum cover. Say in your RFQ if your cargo needs more.⁷	The insurer	With CIF orders	With CIF
Laboratory analysis	GC-MS, moisture and other tests on the lotSay which tests and which method when you ask. The cost is shown in the quotation.	An outside laboratory, named on the report	On request	On request
Safety data sheet	Hazard and handling informationFor essential oils, and for resins and gums where your market requires one.	Named on the sheet	On request	On request
Business licence and export licence	Our Somaliland business licence and export licence	Somaliland authorities	On request	Copies on request
Organic, wild-collection or fair-trade certificate	Third-party certification of the supply chainWe hold no third-party certification, and we do not describe resin as certified.	None	Not available	None held
Online lot record	The lot file, opened with the lot referenceLot documents are sent to you directly. The demonstration record shows the format an online record would take.	Orivex Exports	Not available	Not available

Before the first shipment Expect goods from Berbera to be recorded under Somalia, country code SO.^3,4,8 Ask your customs broker how the origin should be declared in your country and what the documents should say. Tell us, and we will say what our invoice and the issuing bodies can state.

Shipping and delivery terms

Berbera is on the Gulf of Aden, about 160 km by road from Hargeisa.⁹ It is served by scheduled feeder services: the terminal operator lists services, sailing weekly or fortnightly, that connect it with transshipment hubs, where containers move on to mainline services.¹⁰

Feeder connections from Berbera to the hubs on the operator’s list. Sea lanes are drawn schematically. The chart shows the operator’s services. It does not show shipments of ours.

1DjiboutiDjibouti
2JeddahSaudi Arabia
3King Abdullah PortSaudi Arabia
4SalalahOman
5Khor FakkanUnited Arab Emirates
6Jebel AliUnited Arab Emirates

Schedules change, so the quotation gives the routing and dates that can actually be booked.

Delivery terms

What each delivery term means for you
Term	We do	You do
FOB BerberaOur standard term	Deliver the goods on board at Berbera, cleared for export, with the documents.	Book and pay the sea freight, insure the cargo, and clear it at destination.
CIF your portOn request	The same, and we also book the freight and the insurance to your port.	Clear the goods at destination and pay duty and local charges.
By airSmall, urgent lots	Agreed lot by lot. The quotation names the term.	As the quotation says.

Under the Incoterms 2020 rules, FOB and CIF are for sea transport, and under CIF the seller’s insurance obligation is minimum cover.⁷ If your cargo needs wider cover, ask for it in the RFQ.

A first lot can be much smaller than a container load. Tell us the quantity and destination, and the quotation says how the lot can move and under which term.

Standard packing is 25 kg woven bags. Cartons, inner liners and custom packing are available on request. If your warehouse or your market needs palletised cargo or a particular bag, say so in the RFQ.

Payment

Payment: Bank transfer or letter of credit, as agreed in the contract. Nothing ships before terms are agreed.
Who you pay: The quotation names the entity you contract with, the shipper and the account you pay, so that your accounts team and your bank can check them before the order.
Letters of credit: An EU-funded study in 2022 found letters of credit difficult to issue in Somaliland.¹¹ If you want one, ask your own bank first whether it will open it for this trade, and tell us which documents it will call for.

Before your first import

A first shipment from Somaliland raises questions for your customs broker and your bank that most origins do not. Our guide takes them in turn.

How the origin is recorded: under Somalia, country code SO
Classification and duty in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union
Plant health and CITES
Sanctions, banks and payment
The questions to put to your broker and your bank

Questions

What do you need from us to quote?: Material, grade, quantity and destination. A specification sheet, the documents you need and your timing help us answer in one go.
Who arranges freight and customs clearance?: Under FOB Berbera, you or your forwarder arrange the freight; we deliver on board and clear the goods for export. Under CIF we arrange freight and insurance to your port. Import clearance is yours in both cases.
Who do we deal with?: Abdirahman Hussein in Hargeisa for the goods, and Hamza Abdi in Canada for contracts and accounts. Both are on the contact page.
Are you a licensed exporter?: Orivex Exports holds a Somaliland business licence and an export licence. Copies are available to buyers on request.

Ready to start at stage one?

Send the brief: material, grade, quantity and destination.

Request a quote Request a sample

References

Published sources for the reference facts on this page, last read 7 October 2026. Statements about how Orivex Exports works are our own and are not drawn from these sources.

1DeCarlo A., Ali S., Ceroni M. (2020). Ecological and economic sustainability of non-timber forest products in post-conflict recovery: a case study of the frankincense (Boswellia spp.) resin harvesting in Somaliland (Somalia). Sustainability 12(9): 3578. mdpi.com
2Johnson S., DeCarlo A., Satyal P., Dosoky N.S., Sorensen A., Setzer W.N. (2019). Organic certification is not enough: the case of the methoxydecane frankincense. Plants 8(4): 88. mdpi.com
3UK Department for Business and Trade (2026). Preference tiers under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme. gov.uk
4European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union (2026). The Registered Exporter system (REX). taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
5International Plant Protection Convention (2026). Somalia: official contact point. ippc.int
6European Commission (2019). Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, Annex XI: plants and plant products requiring a phytosanitary certificate. Copy lodged with the IPPC, 2020. assets.ippc.int
7International Chamber of Commerce (2020). Incoterms 2020. iccwbo.org
8CBI, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2026). Entering the European market for frankincense. cbi.eu
9Logistics Cluster (n.d.). Somalia: Port of Berbera, logistics capacity assessment. d10.dlca.logcluster.org
10DP World (2026). Berbera: port and terminal information, scheduled services. dpworld.com
11SPDI, EU-funded Somaliland trade programme (2022). Berbera Corridor trade barriers report. eu-som-itbp.org