Shipping Tea from Vietnam: LCL, FCL, Air Cargo and Samples

Shipping tea from northern Vietnam usually follows one of three routes: sea freight through Hai Phong port, either as a part-load (LCL) or a full container (FCL); air cargo through Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi; or express courier for samples. The choice depends on volume, urgency and what the buyer’s import authority requires. Couriers suit samples, air suits small urgent restocks, LCL suits pallet-sized trial orders, and FCL makes sense once the tea fills a large share of a container. Treat every transit time below as a reference to confirm with your forwarder.

Method	Typical order	Gateway	How it is charged	Watch out for
Express courier	Samples, lab and tasting lots	Courier networks from Hanoi	Actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher	US food samples still need FDA Prior Notice
Air cargo	Small, urgent orders	Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)	Chargeable weight: actual weight or volume weight (6,000 cm³ = 1 kg), whichever is higher	Bulky tea cartons raise the chargeable weight
Sea LCL	A few pallets, below a full container	Hai Phong port	Mainly per cubic metre, plus handling at both container freight stations	Extra handling at both ends
Sea FCL	Large or regular orders	Hai Phong (Lach Huyen)	Per container: 20-foot about 33 m³, 40-foot high cube about 76 m³	Confirm the vessel cut-off

Sea freight through Hai Phong: the northern gateway

Tea from Thai Nguyen travels by road to Hai Phong, the main seaport complex for northern Vietnam. According to the Hai Phong city portal, the port system handled more than 115 million tonnes of cargo and over 8.2 million TEU in 2025, and the Lach Huyen deep-water area accounted for nearly 29% of that container throughput. The same source says Lach Huyen offers direct shipping services to Europe and the United States.

Withering beds and rotating drums inside a tea processing workshop in Thai Nguyen — Tea is processed, dried and sorted first; export cartons and sample packs are prepared after that.

Inside Lach Huyen, the Tan Cang Hai Phong International Container Terminal (TC-HICT) was designed for mother vessels of up to 12,000 TEU and 132,000 DWT, according to the Vietnam Seaports Association. The terminal has received trans-Pacific services calling directly at Los Angeles and Oakland, a Pacific Northwest service to Tacoma and Vancouver, and an Asia–US East Coast service calling at Charleston and New York. A container from northern Vietnam therefore does not always need a relay through another Asian hub.

LCL or FCL: choosing by volume

Tea is a light, bulky cargo. A standard 20-foot dry container offers about 33 m³ of internal space and a maximum payload of 28,200 kg, according to Maersk’s equipment specifications, while a 40-foot high cube offers about 76 m³. Cartons of loose-leaf tea, gift boxes or tea bags fill the space long before they reach the weight limit, so volume, not weight, usually decides the container question.

Less than one pallet: courier or air is often simpler, because LCL carries fixed handling and documentation charges at origin and destination.
A few pallets: LCL is usually the economical choice. Your cartons share a container with other shippers’ goods and are consolidated and unpacked at container freight stations (CFS).
Approaching half of a 20-foot container: ask your forwarder to quote LCL and FCL side by side. Beyond price, a full container stays sealed from loading to arrival and lets you control moisture protection.

Agree the Incoterms rule early. The ICC Academy explains that FOB is meant for port-to-port shipments, typically bulk cargo, while FCA is the appropriate rule when goods move in containers or on pallets. For in-stock items, TRAVINA ships from our warehouse within 24 hours on orders under 100 kg, so the rest of the timeline depends on the vessel cut-off and your forwarder’s schedule.

Tea warehouse with stacked sacks at a TRAVINA partner cooperative — Tea sacks stacked in a partner warehouse, ready for packing.

Air cargo through Noi Bai

Noi Bai International Airport (IATA code HAN) in Hanoi is the air gateway for northern Vietnam. One of its cargo terminals, operated by ALS, states a current capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes per year, with expansion to 700,000 tonnes per year planned after 2025.

Air freight is billed on chargeable weight. ASEAN air cargo training material based on IATA rules defines it as the actual gross weight or the volume weight, whichever is higher, with 6,000 cm³ counted as 1 kg. A 60 × 40 × 40 cm carton therefore counts as 16 kg even if the tea inside weighs less, so compact packing pays off.

Air suits launch stock, urgent replenishment and high-value gift boxes. For larger volumes, sea freight usually costs far less per kilogram.

Pan firing drums for green tea at a TRAVINA partner workshop — Pan-firing drums for green tea at a partner workshop.

Express courier for samples

Three points help courier samples clear without delay:

Samples are still food. The US FDA states that Prior Notice applies to food imported as quality assurance, quality control and market research samples, as well as trade samples. An express consignment tracking number can be submitted in place of certain arrival details.
Declare clearly. Describe the goods as green tea, state net weight and value, and mark the parcel as a commercial sample. Ask your broker whether sample quantities are limited.
Pack well. Sealed foil pouches inside a sturdy carton protect the aroma.

TRAVINA gift boxes on the table at a buyer meeting.

Reference transit times and what affects them

Published schedules give useful benchmarks, but carriers revise them regularly:

US and Canada Pacific Northwest: when ONE added Haiphong to its PN2 service in 2019, it published transit times of 14 days to Tacoma and 17 days to Vancouver, noting they could change without notice.
US West Coast by direct service: Vietnamese press reported in 2020 that direct trans-Pacific services from Hai Phong cut Vietnam–US shipping time by 5 to 10 days compared with routing through foreign transshipment hubs.
Europe: UNCTAD noted that a container shipped from Singapore to Rotterdam has a journey 29% shorter when it uses the Suez Canal. Ask whether your carrier routes via Suez or around the Cape of Good Hope.

Also allow time for trucking from Thai Nguyen to the port, export customs clearance, the vessel cut-off, any transshipment and import clearance at destination. For US imports, FDA must receive Prior Notice no less than 8 hours before arrival by water and no less than 4 hours before arrival by air.

Shipping checklist for tea buyers

Confirm volume in cubic metres and gross weight from the packing list, then choose courier, air, LCL or FCL.
Agree the Incoterms rule (FCA for containerised goods, in line with ICC guidance) and who books the freight.
List the documents your import authority requires: commercial invoice, packing list, a certificate of origin if you claim preferential duty, and any certificates your authority requires.
Arrange FDA Prior Notice for the US, or confirm any pre-arrival filing with your broker for other markets.
Specify moisture protection: sealed inner bags, dry cartons and dry pallets.
Agree deposit and lead time: in-stock goods need no deposit; OEM or private label orders from VND 20,000,000 carry a 20–30% deposit; any order printed with your logo carries a 50% deposit.

Plan your shipment around a sample first. Importers can request samples of Traditional Northern Green Tea, Special Green Tea or Broken Needle Tea Bags through our Contact page, or message our export team on Zalo/WhatsApp at +84 855 318 678. We can share carton dimensions and weights so your forwarder can quote courier, air, LCL and FCL options side by side.

FAQ

How long does sea freight from Vietnam to the US take?

Carrier benchmarks include 14 days from Haiphong to Tacoma and 17 days to Vancouver (ONE, 2019). Add inland trucking, customs clearance at both ends and the vessel cut-off, and confirm the current schedule with your forwarder.

When should I switch from LCL to FCL?

When your cargo approaches half of a 20-foot container (about 33 m³ of internal space), compare LCL and FCL quotes, using the cubic metres on the packing list rather than the kilograms.

Is air freight worth it for tea?

For samples, launch stock and urgent restocks, often yes. Because tea is bulky, the charge follows volume weight (6,000 cm³ = 1 kg) when it exceeds the actual weight, so compact cartons keep the cost down.

Do tea samples sent by courier need FDA Prior Notice?

Yes. FDA guidance covers quality assurance, quality control and market research samples as well as trade samples. The courier tracking number can be used in place of certain arrival information.