Export Market
Exporting to North America
Our newest and most distant export region, serving specialty and African/international grocery importers across the United States.
Our newest and most distant export region, serving specialty and African/international grocery importers across the United States.
Our North American export activity is currently focused on the United States, where demand comes primarily from specialty grocery distributors, African and East African diaspora retailers, and importers supplying ethnic and international food aisles at larger retail chains. It is the longest sea route we ship, and — alongside the EU — one of the two most compliance-intensive markets we serve.
Given the distance and documentation requirements, US orders are best suited to buyers planning ahead for container-scale, less-frequent shipments rather than small trial orders, though we are able to work with importers on initial smaller consignments to establish a trading relationship.
Canned vegetables and beans are our primary US export category, supplied to specialty and diaspora grocery distributors.
Available to US cold-chain importers; requires confirmed FDA prior notice and reefer container booking ahead of dispatch.
Long shelf-stable bakery ingredients suited to the extended trans-oceanic transit time.
Steam-sterilized spice blends appeal to US buyers seeking non-irradiated, chemical-free processing for natural/specialty retail positioning.
All food facilities exporting to the United States must be registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and our facility maintains current FDA food facility registration. US importers of record are additionally responsible for compliance with the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP), which requires the importer to verify that imported food meets US safety standards — we support our US buyers' FSVP compliance by providing full FSSC 22000 audit documentation, product specifications, and traceability records on request.
Prior notice of each shipment must also be filed with the FDA before the goods arrive, and products must meet US labelling requirements (nutrition facts panel format, allergen declarations) before retail sale — we can supply products with US-compliant labelling or work with the importer's co-packer/relabeler as needed.
We provide certificate of origin, phytosanitary certification for vegetable-based products, and full FSSC 22000/ISO 9001/HACCP documentation with every US shipment.
Nearest Port / Route
Mombasa to New York/Newark or Houston, via the Suez Canal or Cape route
Typical Lead Time
30–35 days transit by sea
US-bound cargo is the longest transit we handle, typically routing via the Suez Canal to East Coast ports such as New York/Newark, or via the Cape of Good Hope to Gulf Coast ports such as Houston, depending on carrier schedules and cost. Given the 30+ day sea transit plus US customs and FDA prior-notice processing, we recommend US buyers plan orders at least 8–10 weeks ahead of required delivery.
Because of the distance, we encourage new US buyers to consolidate categories (canned, dehydrated, spices) into a single container where possible to make freight economics work, and to confirm FSVP verification steps with us well ahead of the first shipment.
Request FOB/CIF pricing for North America and our export team will respond within 2 business days.