January 8, 2024
AGI News
AGI Offices
When it comes to importing wine to the UK, the team at AGI Manchester have the expertise you are looking for! And due to their vast experience, the team regularly import 1,000 litre tanks of wine from Cape Town in South Africa to the UK. Now that’s a lot of wine!
The importing of wine, and other alcohol, is a complicated process that requires specific customs procedures and movement guarantees. It also needs to be shipped on bond, meaning it is freely transported through multiple countries without undergoing Customs clearance. The clearance only takes place when the goods reach their final destination.
Let’s take a look at the modes of transport we use when importing wine to the UK.
Multimodal Transport
There are a number of ways cargo can be shipped from South Africa to the UK, and when we ship wine, we take a multimodal approach. This offers a cost-effective means of transportation, as well as using sustainable modes of transport.
The typical journey for importing wine from South Africa to the UK, looks like this:
The tanks of wine travel via sea freight from Cape Town to London Gateway.
The tanks are then transported via rail freight for storage.
Onward travel to a bottling plant is then completed via road freight.
The bottled wine is then shipped for storage, or to the customer (either a retailer or an individual).
So as you can see, it really is a multimodal operation, covering, sea, rail and road freight!
The Use Of Rail Freight
When it comes to shipping goods and cargo in a sustainable way, the rail network is an excellent option. By using an electrified means of transport, carbon emissions are reduced, offering a green alternative to transporting goods.
In addition to the green credentials, transporting cargo by rail also benefits from a higher carrying capacity, reliability and cost efficiency. The speed of travel also comes into play, and is another key factor in choosing to transport goods via the rail network.
Movement Guarantees
When you import wine, lots of different documentation can be required, and we can help with that too! A movement guarantee is also needed, so what is a movement guarantee?
A movement guarantee is a form of insurance policy. The guarantee covers any lost revenues from the loss of damage of the cargo being transported. It also ensures the correct duties are paid, and at the correct time. With the importing of wine, duty is typically paid when then wine is bottled, and is ready for sale.
Administrative Reference Code (ARC)
In addition to the movement guarantee, an Administrative Reference Code (ARC) is also required. As soon as the shipment details entered on the EAD (Export Accompanying Document) have been validated, a unique Administrative Reference Code is generated.
The ARC needs to travel with the goods, and must be presented if requested during the movement.
So how can we help?
As you can see, the importing of wine to the UK can be a complicated process, and that’s where we come in! Here at AGI, we specialise in the safe transport of all types of goods and cargo around the world, providing you with professional road freight, sea freight, air freight and rail freight solutions. If you are looking to import wine of other alcohol to the UK, please get in touch. And for all of the latest AGI news, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook!