How to import tiles from Spain: a practical guide for distributors

Spain is the world’s second-largest ceramic tile exporter and the province of Castellón concentrates most of that production. For a distributor, a builders’ merchant or a construction company outside Spain, buying here is the way to access top-tier porcelain at origin price. The process is simpler than it looks once you know the five steps below.

1. Define what you need before asking for prices

A useful pricing request includes four things: the effect or series you are after (marble, wood, cement, stone), the formats, the approximate square metres per reference and the destination country. With that we prepare a concrete offer instead of a generic list. If you have not closed a selection yet, start with the marble-effect, wood-effect and stone-effect collections, which are the fastest movers in distribution.

2. Think in pallets and containers, not loose metres

Tiles are sold and loaded by full pallets. A pallet of 60x120 porcelain carries around 50 to 60 m² and weighs 1,100 to 1,300 kg; a 60x60 pallet slightly less. A 20-foot container takes in practice about 21 tonnes of payload, which is 16 to 18 pallets — roughly 850 to 1,000 m² of porcelain depending on format and thickness. A 40-foot box has more volume, but weight is the limit, not space, so it rarely pays off for tiles unless combined with light product such as taps or shower trays.

That is why the sensible minimum order is one pallet per reference and the efficient buying unit is the full container: freight per m² drops sharply once the box is full. If your volume does not get there, it is common to group several references or to combine porcelain with bathroom products in the same load.

3. Choose the incoterm: FOB or CIF

Our standard price list is FOB port of origin: the price includes the product, export packaging, transport to the Spanish port and loading on board. Sea freight, insurance, import clearance and taxes at destination are for the buyer, who usually already has a trusted forwarder. If you would rather we handle freight and insurance to your port as well, we quote CIF; the price is higher, but you deal with a single party until arrival.

For importers inside the European Union the process is simpler still: no customs, intra-EU VAT and truck delivery straight to your warehouse if you prefer.

4. The documents you will receive

With every shipment we provide the commercial invoice, a packing list detailed by pallet and reference, the Bill of Lading and, where the destination requires it, a certificate of origin issued by the Chamber of Commerce. Ceramic tiles fall under heading 6907 of the Harmonised System; the exact duty depends on your country, and your customs broker will confirm it in minutes with that code. Technical data sheets and declarations of performance (CE marking) for each series are available on request.

5. Usual payment terms and lead times

The industry standard is a deposit on order confirmation and the balance when the goods leave the factory, against the shipping documents. From there, the lead time depends on whether the reference is in stock (loading within one or two weeks) or made to order (typically four to six weeks). Sea transit ranges from one week to Mediterranean ports up to four or five weeks to the Americas or Asia. Our offer states the real lead time for each reference so you can plan the site or your stock.

Mistakes we see often

• Comparing prices per m² without comparing incoterms: an FOB price and a delivered price are not the same thing.
• Requesting samples of ten different series and deciding from a photo: it is better to narrow down to two or three and see the real tile in full format.
• Not allowing 8-10 % extra material for cuts and breakage, which later forces a second small, expensive shipment.
• Forgetting shade and calibre: tiles are supplied from a single batch to avoid differences, so order the full quantity of each reference in one go.

How to start

Our wholesale and import page sets out our full trade terms. If you already know what you want, write to us with formats, square metres and destination country and we will prepare an FOB offer within 24 hours. And if the country of manufacture is a concern, this article explains why quality no longer depends on the country but on the factory.