The short answer
Goods ship from Berbera, which is served by feeder services to transshipment hubs such as Jeddah, Jebel Ali and Djibouti. Expect the origin to be recorded as Somalia (SO), because Somaliland is not widely recognised. Sanctions relating to Somalia are targeted at designated persons, arms and charcoal, and are not a general ban on trade. Before the first shipment, agree with your customs broker how the origin will be declared and with your bank how the payment will be made.
A first shipment of frankincense, myrrh, opoponax or gum arabic from Somaliland raises questions that most origins do not: what the origin is called on your customs entry, how a container gets from Berbera to your port, which documents come with it, and what your bank wants to know before it pays.
This guide takes them in turn for the gums and resins we supply. It is general information, not legal or customs advice: confirm each point with your own customs broker.
How the origin is recorded
Somaliland runs its own customs service and ministries, but it is not widely recognised as a state.12 Tariff schedules and preference lists have no entry for it: the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme lists Somalia, and the European Commission names Somalia among the beneficiaries of the EU’s preference scheme.34 EU import statistics record this trade under Somalia.5
So expect goods from Berbera to be recorded under Somalia, country code SO. How the origin field and the marks on the bags should read in your country is the first question for your broker. Tell us the answer before you order.
Berbera and its feeder services
Berbera is about 160 km by road from Hargeisa.6 DP World operates its container terminal under a 30-year concession agreed in 2016.7 A new terminal opened on 24 June 2021 with a 400-metre quay and a 17-metre draft, raising capacity from 150,000 to 500,000 TEU a year.8
The terminal operator lists scheduled feeder services, sailing weekly or fortnightly, that connect Berbera with transshipment hubs including Jeddah, King Abdullah Port, Salalah, Jebel Ali and Djibouti.9 A Jebel Ali, Aden, Djibouti and Berbera service launched in October 2025.10 The services on that list run to regional hubs, so a container for Europe, North America or East Asia changes vessel at one of them.9
The list is the operator’s and carries no date, so do not take a transit time from it.9 If you buy FOB, the booking is yours: before you sign, have your forwarder confirm which line it can book from Berbera, through which hub and on what dated schedule.
Delivery terms decide who books the freight
Our standard term is FOB Berbera. CIF to your port is available on request, and small, urgent lots can go by air.
Under FOB the sea freight, the cargo insurance and the import clearance are yours. Under CIF we book the freight and the insurance to your port, and clearance and duty stay with you.
Both are sea terms: the Incoterms 2020 rules reserve FOB and CIF for maritime trade.11 Under CIF the seller’s insurance obligation is minimum cover, Institute Cargo Clauses (C).11 If your cargo, your insurer or your bank needs wider cover, say so before the contract is written. An air lot needs a rule written for any mode of transport, such as FCA or CIP.11
The documents and who issues them
| Document | Who issues it | What to settle first |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial invoice and packing list | We do, with lot numbers on both. | The description, botanical name and origin wording your broker needs. |
| Certificate of origin | The Somaliland Chamber of Commerce, for each shipment. | What your customs authority needs it for. |
| Phytosanitary certificate | The Somaliland agriculture ministry, with every shipment. | Whether your plant-health authority asks for one, and from whom. |
The exporter lodges a goods declaration with Somaliland customs, backed by the invoice, packing list, business licence number and any export licence.2 We hold a Somaliland business licence and an export licence, and send copies on request.
Official certificates from Somaliland are not automatically recognised abroad: a 2022 EU-funded study names the non-recognition of its health certificates as a main obstacle to fish exports.12 So settle the paperwork before the first order. Ask any exporter for a specimen of each certificate and show it to your broker. The full document list shows what else is on request.
Classification and duty
Gum arabic is classified in HS 1301.20, and frankincense, myrrh and other natural gums and gum-resins in HS 1301.90.1314 That second line is the residual one, “Other”. The schedules have no line for opoponax by name, so it is declared there as a natural gum-resin.1314 If you need certainty, ask your broker about a binding ruling.
| Market | Published position, and what to ask |
|---|---|
| Canada | The most-favoured-nation tariff is Free for 1301.20.00 and 1301.90.00.13 |
| United States | The general rate of duty is Free for 1301.20.00 and 1301.90.91, but other US tariff measures can apply.14 Ask which do on the date of entry. |
| United Kingdom | Somalia is in the Comprehensive Preferences tier of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, with a zero tariff on almost all products.3 Ask your broker for the rate and the proof of origin a preference claim needs. |
| European Union | Have your broker check the rate for both subheadings in TARIC. The Everything But Arms preference cannot be claimed for this origin at present, because Somalia does not apply the EU’s registered exporter system.4 |
| Elsewhere | Ask for the rate and the documents your customs authority requires. |
Where the ordinary rate is already Free, as in Canada and the United States, no preference claim rests on the certificate of origin.1314
Plant health and CITES
Annex XI of EU Implementing Regulation 2019/2072 lists the plant products that need a phytosanitary certificate, and natural gums and resins (heading 1301) are not on it.15 Have your broker confirm against the current text.
We send a phytosanitary certificate with every shipment all the same, from the Somaliland agriculture ministry. Somalia’s official contact point under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is a different body, the Somali Agricultural Regulatory and Inspection Services in Mogadishu.16 So ours is a Somaliland certificate. If your market requires an official certificate for this heading, tell us before you order.
No Boswellia species was CITES-listed in January 2026, after the Parties’ meeting of November and December 2025.5 At that meeting they adopted decisions on the genus instead, inviting range states to evaluate whether certain species would benefit from further consideration.17 At the same meeting guggul, Commiphora wightii, a different species from myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), was added to Appendix II.18 Ask for the botanical name on every invoice, and check Species+ for the date you ship.
In the EU, all Boswellia species have been in Annex D of the Wildlife Trade Regulations since 2022, which means imports are monitored.1920 An EU importer should ask its broker whether bulk resin needs an import notification.
Sanctions, banks and payment
International sanctions relating to Somalia are aimed at designated persons, arms and charcoal: they are not a general ban on trade, and natural gums and resins are not restricted goods.2122 Canada’s regulations follow the same pattern.23
The US, UK and Canadian texts do not treat Somaliland separately from Somalia, so expect your bank to screen the exporter, its owners, the banks and the vessel against the current sanctions lists.2123
An EU-funded study in 2022 found letters of credit still difficult to issue in Somaliland, given the absence of a formal financial sector and of correspondent banking.12 For both reasons, a payment that mentions Somalia or Berbera may draw questions from your bank’s compliance team even when nothing in it is prohibited.
With us, payment is by bank transfer or letter of credit, as agreed in the contract, and contracts and accounts are handled from Canada. Before you order, ask us which entity signs the contract, which is named as shipper and which account you pay, and give those names to your bank.
If you want a letter of credit, ask your bank first whether it will open one for this trade and which documents it will call for.
Questions to ask before the first shipment
Nothing ships before terms are agreed, so there is time to get the answers in writing and send them when you request a quote.
Your customs broker
- How will you declare the origin of goods loaded at Berbera, and what must the invoice, packing list and certificate of origin say?
- Which national tariff line will you use, and is a binding ruling worth having?
- What duty and other tariff measures apply on the date of entry, and is a preference claim needed?
- Does our plant-health authority require a phytosanitary certificate for this heading, and if so, issued by whom?
- For the EU: does bulk Boswellia resin need an Annex D import notification, and who files it?
Your bank
- Will you make a payment, or open a letter of credit, for goods of Somalia origin shipped from Berbera?
- Which parties will you screen, and what do you need from the supplier to do it?
- Which documents will a letter of credit call for, in whose name and with what origin wording?