Selling to overseas buyers, from Sri Lanka

SriLankaExport.com is operated by Harker International (Pvt) Ltd, registered in Sri Lanka and based in Kandy. We work with Sri Lankan producers in two different ways, and it is worth knowing which one you are in, because the money works differently in each.

The two ways we work with you

Most producers do both, and you can be in both at once.

What a seller account gives you

The account also carries a certificate locker, a place to file your company documents once rather than emailing them to every buyer, a form for reporting your current prices so we can put you in front of the right enquiry quickly, and shipment tracking.

Сколько это стоит

Before you sign up to any marketplace, ask two questions. What do I pay before I have sold anything, and what do you take when I do. Large international platforms commonly charge an annual membership running to several thousand United States dollars, payable in advance. Put our answer next to theirs.

The one thing we need from you

A minimum order quantity and an indicative price for every product you list. Not a final price and not a commitment, just a number a buyer can work with.

This is the single most common reason an enquiry goes nowhere. A buyer in Hamburg asks what a tonne of C5 cinnamon costs. If we have to telephone you, wait, and then reply two days later, we have usually lost to somebody who answered the same morning. If your indicative price is on file we answer immediately, then come back to you for the firm number.

We also need your company documents on file once, and one named person we can reach when something is urgent.

What we never claim on your behalf

• We never say we have inspected or verified your goods. If nobody went and looked, nobody says they did.
• We never present your certificate as ours, or as the buyer’s. A certificate certifies the operation named on it. In particular, an organic certificate held by you does not make a buyer’s import organic in its own country, and we will not let a buyer believe otherwise.
• We never say we are a government body. We are an independent private company, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.
• We never show one supplier another supplier’s price. What you quote us is confidential to us.
• We do not hold your money ourselves and we hold no financial license. When a buyer wants protection, they pay through Escrow.com, a licensed escrow service, or by letter of credit. We tell you which before the order is confirmed.

What we will not promise

• We cannot promise you a sale, and nobody honest can. What we can do is put you in front of real buyers and tell you truthfully when it did not work.
• Getting a Sri Lankan brand onto an overseas retail shelf is realistically a one to five year job, not a season. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something.
• Мы не занимаемся продажей драгоценных камней и ювелирных изделий.

If you want more than this

Some producers want more hands-on help than a listing and an occasional enquiry. That is a proper conversation rather than an email. Tell the desk and we will arrange a call with the person who handles it.

Selling food to the United States? Your factory must be registered with the US FDA and must name a US Agent. We act as US Agent for Sri Lankan exporters and help you register or renew: Регистрация FDA и US Agent.

How to start

• Tell us what you produce, and your usual minimum order quantity.
• Send photographs and any certificates you already hold. We will build your first listing with you at no cost, so you do not have to fight with a form.
• You stay in control. You set your prices, you approve every quote, and no order is placed in your name without you.