Sending a Container to Samoa: A Practical Guide for Families

For many Samoan families in Australia and New Zealand, sending a container home is part of life. It might be furniture and appliances for parents in Apia, building materials for a family house, supplies for a wedding or a funeral, or everything you own because you're moving back. It's usually a big expense and an emotional one, so it's worth getting right.

This guide walks families through sending a container to Samoa: choosing a container, what to pack and what to leave out, the paperwork, customs and biosecurity at Apia, timelines and costs. For the bigger picture, see our complete guide to shipping to the Pacific Islands.

How sending a container to Samoa works

Almost all sea freight for Samoa arrives at Apia's main wharf at Matautu on Upolu. Clearing a container there involves several agencies, and the Samoa trade portal sets out the steps:

1. Collect the shipping documents from the shipping agent.
2. Lodge the customs declaration with the Ministry of Customs and Revenue and pay any duty and VAGST.
3. Obtain quarantine clearance from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries where required, including for vehicles.
4. Pay wharfage to the Samoa Ports Authority.
5. Have the goods inspected at the wharf if selected.
6. Get the release from the shipping agent and collect the container.

Many families use a customs broker or the forwarder's agent in Apia to handle these steps, which is worth it if you're not on the ground. The Ministry of Customs and Revenue publishes its customs procedures online. See do you need a customs broker in the Pacific Islands?

Routes and timelines

Samoa has strong links to New Zealand, where the largest Samoan community outside Samoa lives. Services from Auckland and Tauranga call Apia regularly. Published transit times from Auckland to Apia are about 10 days, and from Tauranga a little longer. From Australia, cargo for Samoa often moves via Auckland or through Suva, though some services connect from Fiji. Ask your forwarder exactly how your container will route.

Indicative only. Routings change, so confirm the current service and transit time when you book.

Transhipment adds time. Our guide to why transhipment matters explains what to ask.

Choosing a container

A 20-foot container holds about 33 cubic metres, enough for the contents of a typical two-bedroom home. A 40-foot holds about 67, and a 40-foot high cube about 76. Many families buy a container outright rather than hiring one, because a shipper-owned container avoids detention charges and becomes a useful storeroom or workshop once it's unpacked in Samoa.

If you don't have enough for a full container, you can share one with other family members or send a smaller consignment as LCL. Sharing works well if you agree costs in writing and keep separate inventories. See FCL vs LCL to the Pacific Islands.

What to pack, and what to leave out

Usually fine

• Clean furniture, beds and mattresses
• Household appliances and electronics
• Clothing, linen and household textiles
• Kitchenware and crockery
• New building materials, tools and hardware, cleaned and declared

Leave out or check first

• Food of any kind, unless you've confirmed it's allowed. Meat, dairy, eggs, seeds and fresh produce commonly need permits or are refused.
• Plants, seeds, soil and potting mix.
• Animal products such as skins, feathers and untreated items.
• Gas bottles, fuel, paint, aerosols and chemicals, which most container services won't accept.
• Firearms and ammunition.
• Medicines beyond personal quantities, which may need health ministry approval.

Samoa's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries handles quarantine permits. Its application form notes that normal applications take about two working days, while new kinds of imports need a risk analysis that can take three months. See prohibited and restricted items.

Clean everything that's been outside

Outdoor furniture, bikes, prams, garden tools, lawnmowers, sporting gear and shoes must be free of soil, seeds and insects. Drain fuel from mowers and generators. A dirty item can hold up the whole container while it's cleaned or treated at your cost.

Use the right packing materials

Use cardboard, blankets, foam and plastic. Avoid homemade timber crates and old pallets: any solid timber must carry the ISPM 15 mark. See ISPM 15 explained.

Paperwork

• A detailed inventory listing every box and its contents, with values for new items.
• The consignee's details in Samoa, exactly as they appear on identification.
• Receipts for new goods, which help customs value them.
• Any permits required for restricted items.
• Vehicle documents if you're sending a car.

Personal effects don't need an Australian export declaration, but commercial goods worth more than AUD 2,000 do. If you're sending goods for sale, a church fundraiser or a business, treat the shipment as commercial and tell your forwarder.

Duty, VAGST and concessions

Samoa charges a value-added goods and services tax (VAGST) of 15% on most imports, plus import duty depending on the goods. Customs values imports for duty purposes, and new goods, gifts and items for resale are generally taxed. Concessions may be available in some circumstances, such as for returning residents' used personal effects, but the conditions are specific. Check with the Ministry of Customs and Revenue or a broker before you pack, not after the container lands. Samoa is also a PACER Plus party, which can reduce duty on some goods originating in Australia or New Zealand.

See import duty and taxes in the Pacific Islands for how the calculation works.

Sending a car

Samoa switched to driving on the left in 2009, so right-hand-drive vehicles from Australia and New Zealand suit local roads. A vehicle needs quarantine clearance, so clean it thoroughly, including underneath and in the wheel arches, and remove everything from the cabin and tray. Check import rules, duties and registration requirements before you buy or ship. See shipping a car to the Pacific Islands.

Timing around family events

Containers to Samoa peak ahead of Christmas and around weddings, funerals and other family obligations. Space fills early from October, and a container that misses its sailing may arrive after the event it was meant for. Book well ahead, allow for transhipment and clearance, and remember that the November to April cyclone season can delay sailings. See shipping during Pacific cyclone season.

Frequently asked questions

Written by

Peyton Brown

Senior Editor of The Pennsy's Pacific shipping desk, with more than a decade in Pacific freight operations, documentation and customs coordination across Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

More from Peyton