Container vessel underway

For buyers

Sourcing from Sri Lanka, without flying there

Tell us what you need. We price it on the ground and come back with one number.

SriLankaExport is the trading desk of Harker International (Private) Limited, registered in Sri Lanka and based in Kandy. You tell us what you are looking for. We take that requirement to Sri Lankan producers, price it, and come back to you with a firm offer. If you accept it, we buy from the producer and we sell to you.

One priceAll-in, on FOB Colombo, CFR, CIF or your Incoterm
One counterpartyYou contract with us. We contract with the producer
On the groundPriced by telephone and by visit, inside Sri Lanka

How it works

Step 1You send the requirement. Product and grade, quantity, destination port, packing, and any certification you need. There is no charge for asking and no obligation.
Step 2We price it here. We telephone producers who can genuinely make that specification at that volume. Sri Lankan price discovery happens by phone, not on a screen, which is why being in the country matters.
Step 3You receive one price. A single all-in figure on FOB Colombo, CFR or CIF your port, or another Incoterm you name, with the grade, packing, lead time and validity date written down.
Step 4Samples, if you want them. We arrange samples before you commit to a container. Sample and courier costs are quoted separately.
Step 5Order and shipment. You contract with Harker International. We contract with the producer. You have one counterparty and one invoice.

We buy on our own account and resell to you. There is no commission, no buyer fee and no membership. Our margin sits inside the price we quote, the same way it does with any trading company. You are free to compare our number against anyone else and we would rather you did.

Request tracker

Follow every request, step by step

Every request you send us gets its own private tracking page. We send you the link with our first reply, and email you each time your request moves forward.

See an example →
▶ Watch how the tracker works (38 sec)
  1. ✓Received
  2. ✓Preparing your quote
  3. 3Quote ready
  4. 4Samples
  5. 5Order confirmed
  6. 6Shipped

What we source

CategoryExamples
SpicesCeylon cinnamon by grade, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg and mace
TeaCeylon black tea by grade and elevation, bulk and private label
CoconutCoconut oil, virgin coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coir and coco peat
IndustrialNatural rubber, coconut shell activated carbon, vein graphite
OtherEssential oils, ayurvedic preparations, textiles and apparel, ceramics

If a product is not on this list, ask anyway. If we cannot source it properly we will tell you so rather than take the enquiry and go quiet.

What makes an enquiry answerable

The difference between a quote in two days and a quote never is usually the specification. We need six things.

  • Product and grade. Ceylon cinnamon is not one product. C5, C4, M5, H1 and Alba are different goods at different prices. The same is true of tea grades and of pepper.
  • Quantity, with a unit. Kilogrammes, metric tonnes and containers are a thousand-fold apart. A bare number cannot be priced.
  • Destination port. Not just the country. Freight is quoted lane by lane.
  • Packing. Bag size, carton, pallet or bulk, and any labeling you need.
  • Certification you actually require. Phytosanitary, certificate of origin, organic, halal, or a specific laboratory report.
  • Target price, if you have one. Telling us saves both of us a round trip. We will say plainly if it cannot be met.

Terms we quote on

FOB Colombo

Goods delivered on board at the Port of Colombo. You arrange the ocean leg and your own cargo insurance.

CFR your port

We arrange and pay the ocean freight through to your named port. Cargo insurance remains yours to arrange.

CIF your port

As CFR, and we also arrange cargo insurance for the ocean leg to your named port.

Other Incoterms

Ask for the term you buy on. The quote states exactly what is included.

Payment

  • Payment is by commercial bank transfer to Harker International (Pvt) Ltd at Hatton National Bank, Sri Lanka. Full details appear on the proforma invoice.
  • We are not a payment service and we do not hold funds ourselves. On first orders of USD 2,000 to 20,000 you can pay through Escrow.com, a licensed escrow service that releases payment to us only after you accept the goods, or use a letter of credit through your bank.
  • For a first order or a large one, a documentary letter of credit through your own bank is the instrument international trade actually uses for this problem. It is stronger than any marketplace guarantee, and your bank rather than a website holds the risk.
  • We do not accept card payment or PayPal for trade orders.

What we do not do

  • We do not certify goods. Certificates belong to the producer and are issued by the certifying body. We pass them to you as they were given to us, and we tell you their status.
  • We do not claim to have inspected what we have not inspected. If we have been to the site and photographed the goods, we will say so and send you the photographs. If we have not, we will say that instead.
  • A producer’s organic certificate is not your organic certificate. Under the United States Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule the importer of record must itself be certified to the National Organic Program, and certification takes several months. If you intend to sell the goods as organic in the United States, plan for that before you order.
  • We do not deal in gems or jewellery.

Independent inspection

If you want the goods checked by somebody with no interest in the sale, that is the right instinct and we will help you arrange it. SGS, Bureau Veritas and Intertek all operate in Sri Lanka and will inspect and draw samples before shipment. You commission them directly and the report comes to you, not to us. We co-ordinate access to the site.

Why buy through us

Because somebody has to look at the goods, and it should not have to be you, on a flight. We are a Sri Lankan company with people in Sri Lanka. We can drive to a mill on a Tuesday afternoon, photograph what is actually on the pallet, and tell you what we saw. A desk audit performed by a contractor who never sees the goods is worth less than that, whatever badge sits next to it.

You deal with one counterparty, on one invoice, at a price you are free to compare against anyone else in the market.

Sending us a requirement is free and commits you to nothing. Send the six things listed above and we will come back with what is available, a realistic price, and a date it is good until.

Contact

SriLankaExport Trade Desk

info@srilankaexport.com | Telephone +1 726 256 5536 | WhatsApp

Book a call. Europe, the Gulf and Asia at srilankaexport.com/meet-ruzni/

The Americas at srilankaexport.com/meet-justice/

SriLankaExport.com is owned and operated by Harker International (Private) Limited, company registration PV 00338032, Kandy, Sri Lanka. We are an independent private company, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. Prices quoted are valid only for the period stated on the quotation.