AUSTRALIA TRADE AND FINANCE
Exporting to the Middle East The dos and the don’ts
Council (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates), the opportunities will continue to grow for Australian exporters. In addition to the cultural differences that Australian companies must consider when looking at exporting to the Middle East, many companies overlook the importance of export documentation and procedures. Failing to take into account the practical aspects of doing business with a new country – financial planning, risk management and supply chain – is a common mistake and can be extremely costly when doing business in the Middle East. If you are considering the Middle East as a new export
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region, then you should not only consider the country risk, commercial risk and market risk, but ensure that you have planned ahead for all of these. How will you finance your product? Will your local bank support your transaction? Will you be able to obtain a letter of credit? Above all these things, you should examine market entry. What are the regulatory requirements for certain products in the Middle East? In the Middle East it is common to have tight regulations
on customs and export documentation, as well as difficulties accessing finance. However, the things you need to watch out for in this market are mainly the same as for most other markets where Australian companies do business.
Your 10-point checklist 1) All documentation must be either on the export company's and/or the issuer's letterhead and signed/ stamped. Any corrections must be stamped and signed by the issuer.
2) All documentation must be in English. 3) All documentation must be correct – this is important for any country you are exporting to, but especially Middle Eastern countries.
4) Check that the country/buyer does or does not require a certificate of origin and/or Embassy certification − this is a requirement to most Middle East countries.
5) Make sure you forward any documentation in time to 54 AUSTRALIA AND THE ARAB COUNTRIES | 2010
he Middle East represents an important and growing market for Australian exporters across a range of industry sectors. With Australia currently in FTA negotiations with the Gulf Corporation
allow for the import clearance process by the buyer − this generally takes much longer in the Middle East compared to other regions.
6) All documentation must be manually signed. 7) Check with the buyer at negotiation time regarding their documentation requirements. Avoid loss of profit at time of shipment by double-checking that you won’t be required to pay for additional documentation for other destinations.
8) Check any labelling and marketing requirements, as these will vary from country to country within the Middle East.
9) Original documents will be required at clearance point − allow for time and cost to courier documents to the buyer after shipment.
10) The documents required for all commercial shipments to the Middle East from Australia are: commercial invoice/certificate of origin/bill of lading (or airway bill)/ insurance certificate (if goods are insured by the exporter) and a packing list.
Dubai is a great starting place − it is essentially a small,
competitive market and a gateway to other markets for Australian exports. Dubai is a also a much easier market to enter in regards to the documentation requirements.
Procuring payment Protecting your payment is important. Many companies trading with the Middle East want the security of a letter of credit to back-stop their export sales.
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