Exporting Ceramics from Turkey: A Buyer Guide

Turkey is one of the closest handmade ceramics production centres to Europe, and Kütahya is where that production lives. The city has carried a tile and ceramics tradition for centuries, and the work is still done at workshop scale — shaped by hand and painted by hand. We have been in one of those workshops since 2007.

This guide covers what happens after you have chosen the product: how goods are packed, which delivery terms apply, what documents are issued, and how long the process takes.

Why Kütahya

• Geographic proximity — far shorter lead times to the Balkans and Central Europe than Far East alternatives.
• Genuine handwork — hand-shaping and brush painting, not slip-cast mass production.
• Small batches are possible — you do not have to order a full container.
• Trade facilitation under the Customs Union with the European Union.

The export process step by step

1. Quote request and price agreement.
2. Proforma invoice issued and payment terms confirmed.
3. Production and quality control.
4. Export packing and palletising.
5. Freight arrangement and customs clearance.
6. Shipment and delivery.

Delivery terms (Incoterms)

We work with three delivery terms. Which one suits you depends on whether you already have your own freight and customs setup:

• EXW (Ex Works) — goods are collected from the workshop. Freight and customs are entirely the buyer responsibility. The most flexible option if you work with your own forwarder.
• FOB (Free On Board) — goods are our responsibility until loaded on board at the named port of departure. Common for sea freight.
• DAP (Delivered At Place) — goods are delivered to the address you specify. Preferred by buyers who do not want to handle the freight side.

Delivery terms directly affect the price, so tell us which one you want when requesting a quote and you will get a comparable figure.

Packaging

Ceramics are fragile, and this is the main risk in transit. Our standard practice: each piece is individually wrapped, placed in compartment boxes, and the boxes are stacked on pallets and secured with stretch wrap. Corner protection and additional padding are applied on long-distance shipments.

Retail-ready packaging is also available on request — if you sell under your own brand, handling this step at our end shortens your time to shelf.

Documentation

Standard documents issued with the shipment:

• Commercial invoice
• Packing list
• Certificate of origin
• A.TR movement certificate — provides customs duty advantage for shipments to European Union countries
• Transport document (CMR or bill of lading)

Lead time

Lead time depends on whether the order is filled from stock or produced to order. In handmade production every piece is shaped and painted individually, so for large orders the production schedule is the determining factor. We give a date we can commit to with the quote, not an estimate.

Where we ship

Markets we ship to regularly: Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany and the Netherlands. We can ship across Europe; you are welcome to request a quote for a country not on this list.

Shipping options

Order size determines which mode of transport makes sense. We use three:

• Groupage (LTL) road freight — the most common method for orders up to a few pallets. You share the vehicle with other loads, cost drops, transit time stretches somewhat.
• Full truck road freight — fast and predictable for the Balkans and Central Europe. On large orders the cost per pallet falls below groupage.
• Sea freight container — preferred for distant destinations and very large volumes. The lowest unit cost, but the longest transit time.

For neighbouring markets such as Greece and Bulgaria, road freight is almost always the right choice. For Germany and the Netherlands we compare groupage against a full truck depending on order size.

Cost items the buyer should calculate

The product price is only one part of the total cost. When setting your shelf price, factor in:

• Freight — whether it falls to you or to us depends on the delivery term.
• Customs and import handling — the A.TR certificate removes customs duty in European Union countries, but VAT and broker fees remain.
• Insurance — recommended for fragile goods, typically a small percentage of cargo value.
• Breakage allowance — the rate is never zero; spreading it into cost from the start beats eroding the margin later.
• Storage and inland distribution — getting goods from the port or warehouse to your shop.

Breakage risk and insurance

Transit damage in ceramics can never be brought to zero, but it can be brought to a manageable level. Our side of the measures is covered in the packaging section: individual wrapping, compartment boxes, pallet securing, corner protection.

On the buyer side we recommend two things. First, take out cargo insurance on the value of the goods — for fragile freight the premium is low and the cover is worth it. Second, inspect pallets for external damage before unwrapping at delivery and record it on the delivery note; insurance claims become harder when damage is reported later.

In the damage reports that reach us, claims that arrive with photographs are resolved considerably faster.