Shipping to Colombia During CNY: What to Know About Customs & Transit Times
Introduction
Chinese New Year (CNY) is one of the most disruptive times in the global supply chain, especially if your goods start in China and wind up with customers in Latin America. If Colombian importers, e-commerce firms, and logistics managers don’t plan ahead, this holiday season might silently develop into weeks of delays, greater expenses, and disgruntled customers.
Factories close, carriers fill up, ports get busy, and customs offices can get backed up when they have too much work to complete. Colombia’s customs procedures are still rigorous, and transit times are less predictable just when demand is usually high.
This article tells you everything you need to know about shipping from China to Colombia around CNY, including how the holiday affects lead times, what to watch out for in Colombian customs, how long it will really take for your goods to get there, and how to make a shipping plan that keeps your business running smoothly. We’ll also talk about how a professional logistics company like Topway Shipping can help you get through this busy time with fewer surprises.
How Chinese New Year Disrupts Supply Chains to Colombia
Chinese New Year isn’t just a few days of fun; it may slow down the whole supply chain for weeks at a time. Many Chinese factories close for one to two weeks, while some stay open but with fewer workers for even longer. This is because workers go back to their hometowns and may take longer to come back. This means that your normal manufacturing timetables will be longer before your shipment even gets to a port or airport in Colombia.
Carriers and freight forwarders are also in their busiest time of year. Space on ships and planes fills up quickly as exporters hurry to send out items before the holidays. If you book late, you might have to pay more for restricted space or have your cargo pushed back to a later departure. Colombia often depends on transshipment ports and connecting planes, thus any traffic jams in Asia can swiftly lead to lengthier overall transit times.
The backlog doesn’t just go away after CNY. Carriers require time to move their equipment around, ports are clearing out containers that have built up, and customs in important hubs may still be processing more goods than usual. That implies the “CNY effect” can last for weeks after the actual holiday dates for cargo moving to Colombia, especially for ocean freight.
Understanding Colombia’s Customs Landscape
DIAN (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales), Colombia’s customs agency, is noted for asking for precise and correct paperwork. Even a little difference between documents, like a small difference in declared value or an insufficient description of items, might cause delays, inspections, or fines. These kinds of problems can be especially bad during and after CNY, when there is a lot of business going on and processing lineups are longer.
Colombia charges import fees on most commercial goods based on the product’s HS code. Then, it adds VAT (usually 19%) and, in some cases, other taxes dependent on the type of product. Many e-commerce shipments go via simplified processes, but once they go beyond a certain value, they have to go through normal customs procedures. If you’re going from small packages to palletized or containerized shipments around CNY, you will probably go above those limits and have to deal with more complicated clearance rules.
Also, keep in mind that Colombia places a lot of importance on correct HS classification and appropriate Spanish descriptions of goods. If you work with partners who know both Chinese export paperwork and Colombian import rules, the chances of customs holds happening go down a lot. It’s easy to miss these kinds of things when everyone is in a hurry, which is when they matter most.
Here’s a quick summary of how customs could approach different types of products. This is not legal advice：
| Product Type | Example HS Code Range | Typical Duty Range* | VAT (IVA) | Common Customs Focus Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronics & Gadgets | 85xx | 0–15% | 19% | Certifications, product valuation, correct technical description |
| Fashion & Apparel | 61xx–62xx | 10–20%+ | 19% | Fabric composition, origin, declared value |
| Footwear | 64xx | 10–25%+ | 19% | Material (leather vs synthetic), brand authenticity |
| Home & Lifestyle Products | 39xx, 73xx, 94xx | 5–20% | 19% | Material description, usage, set vs single item classification |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 33xx | 5–20% | 19% | Ingredients, labeling compliance, potential sanitary permits |
| Toys & Games | 95xx | 5–20% | 19% | Safety certifications, age labeling |
*Duty rates are just estimates and can change. Always check the most recent tariff data or talk to a customs specialist.
Typical Transit Times from China to Colombia Around CNY
The time it takes to get from China to Colombia depends a lot on how you get there, the route you take, and how busy the hubs are. During CNY, it’s common for lead times to be longer than usual, sometimes by days or even weeks.
Air freight and courier services are the fastest ways to send things quickly, but they are also the most affected by a lack of space. Passenger flights and tickets may be cut back or changed, which could affect belly cargo space. Dedicated freighters, on the other hand, focus on long-term, high-volume contracts. It can be harder for smaller shippers to find space at good prices.
Ocean freight is still the major way that China and Colombia trade, whether it’s for big shipments or regular ones. Most of the time, routes go through transshipment centers like Panama or Caribbean ports before getting to Colombia (for example, Cartagena, Buenaventura, or Barranquilla). When the number of shipments goes up around CNY, ships may skip or change some port calls, and containers may get held at hubs, which can make transit times longer than usual. LCL (less-than-container-load) cargo might be severely affected because it depends on when the cargo is consolidated and when it is deconsolidated at the destination.
Here is a broad look at how long people predict transit times to be during normal times compared to around CNY:
| Mode | Typical Route Example | Normal Transit Time (Port–Port / Airport–Airport) | CNY-Season Transit Time Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Express Courier | Major Chinese city → Bogotá (air express) | 3–7 days | 5–10 days or more | Fastest option; rates and surcharges often spike |
| Air Freight | Shenzhen / Guangzhou → Bogotá / Medellín | 5–10 days | 7–14+ days | Capacity constraints and re-routing can extend lead times |
| Ocean FCL | Shenzhen / Shanghai → Cartagena/Buenaventura | 30–40 days | 35–50+ days | Port congestion and transshipment delays are common |
| Ocean LCL | Same main routes via transshipment hubs | 35–50 days | 40–60+ days | Extra time for consolidation/deconsolidation |
Remember that these are just the times it takes to get there, not the overall lead times. You still need to think about production, packing containers, customs for exports, and customs for imports in Colombia. Depending on how you set things up, a realistic door-to-door planning horizon can easily be 60 to 90 days for sea freight and 10 to 20 days for air freight.
Key Paperwork and Compliance Tips for CNY Shipments to Colombia
When there isn’t enough space and customs offices are busy, good paperwork can give you an edge over your competitors. Papers that are complete and consistent advance through the system faster, whereas papers that are badly prepared get put to the side.
Every shipment from China to Colombia should have a clear commercial invoice that follows your sales contract and provide enough information about the items for customs to classify them. Generic phrases like “electronic products” can be warning signs. Instead, say exactly what they are, such “Bluetooth headphones, over-ear, wireless.” Make sure the currency, Incoterms, and payment terms are all clear to avoid queries about the value.
The packing list should look like the invoice, but it should focus on physical details like the number of cartons, weight, size, kind of packaging, and how the items are stacked. Colombian customs and your local logistics partners commonly use this to schedule inspections, storage, and delivery to the last mile. When a lot of shipments come in at once, like around CNY, a precise packing list might save you hours of work.
You will also need to make sure you have the right importer information for Colombia, such as the NIT (tax ID) and RUT registration if necessary. Some types of products or import regimes may need extra certificates, including health or safety approvals. Since they take a while to get, you should take care of them well before the CNY rush. If you wait until the last minute to file for permits while factories are closing, you will have to wait longer.
Lastly, check that the consignee name and address, the declared value, and the description on your shipping labels and paperwork are all the same. This should be true for your invoice, airway bill or bill of lading, and any internal system you employ. When your cargo wants things to go smoothly, discrepancies could make you have to do manual checks.
Managing Costs: Duties, Taxes, and Hidden Peak-Season Fees
CNY doesn’t just change how long it takes to get there; it can also silently raise your overall landed cost. The most obvious effect is higher shipping prices, but there are other fees that can sneak in if you’re not attentive.
Colombian duties are usually based on CIF, which stands for Cost, Insurance, and Freight. When CNY causes freight rates to rise, your taxable base rises as well, which means you pay more duty and VAT. In November, a shipment would generally have to pay a specific amount of tax. However, in February, it may cost a lot more to clear because the freight cost is higher. This effect is stronger for large, low-value commodities sent by sea.
You should also think about time-related fees. If your container is late or stuck at a port, you may have to pay demurrage (fees for utilizing the shipping line’s container after the free period) and storage fees at the terminal or warehouse. During busy times like CNY, there may be fewer free days and longer clearance times, which makes it more likely that you may have to pay extra fees.
For example, think of a shipment of electronics worth $20,000 and standard sea freight of $2,000. The cost of shipping may go up to $3,000 or more during CNY. That extra $1,000 is added to the taxable CIF value. So, if your total duty and VAT rate is 30% to 35%, your tax bill might go up by $300 to $350 just because of higher shipping costs. When you do it for a lot of shipments, the effect becomes big.
You may keep these costs down by carefully arranging things like combining shipments, picking the best mode of transportation, or scheduling freight ahead of time. When you work with a logistics partner that offers both FCL and LCL alternatives and overseas storage, you can also use methods like shipping earlier and keeping goods closer to your Colombian consumers.
Timing Strategy: When to Ship for CNY if Your Market Is Colombia
The difference between a CNY season that seems like a tranquil wave and one that feels like a storm is good timing. To pick the best departure windows for shipments going to Colombia, you need to work backwards from your sales calendar and inventory levels.
If you mostly use ocean freight to restock your inventory, it’s best to book and send your most important shipments well before the main CNY closure period. Many experienced importers want their last shipments to leave 3 to 6 weeks before the holiday. That way, the containers are already on the water when manufacturers close and the ports are busiest. This usually means finishing manufacturing sooner in Q4 or early January for products that are always in demand in Colombia.
For air freight and urgent restocks, the timing is tighter, but with good organization, it’s still possible to get it done. One to two weeks before CNY, air capacity starts to get limited as exporters race to send out small, high-value shipments. If you know you’ll require emergency stock in Colombia during or right after the holiday, let your logistics partner know early and think about getting block space or pre-arranged allocations if you can. It’s also a good idea to retain a stock of fast-moving goods in Colombian warehouses so you don’t have to rely on last-minute flights from China.
Instead of a quick reset, plan for a gradual return to normal after CNY. Carriers and factories both require time to get back to full output and make adjustments to their schedules and equipment. If you think “back to normal next week,” you might promise too much to your Colombian buyers or retail partners. Instead, think of March as a moment of change, with conservative lead time forecasts and a little more safety stock in Colombia.
Working With Colombian Importers, Partners, and End Customers
Even the best preparation for logistics can’t stop all delays, especially during a time like CNY when things are so chaotic. That’s why it’s just as crucial to plan your capacity and get ready for customs as it is to talk openly with your Colombian partners and clients.
If you sell through local merchants or distributors, provide them your CNY calendar and logistics preparations well in advance. Tell them when Chinese factories will be closed, when your last shipments before the Chinese New Year are due, and how much safety stock you are storing up in your area. This lets them change their own marketing campaigns, procurement orders, and promotional calendars in Colombia.
Setting reasonable delivery expectations is highly important for e-commerce firms that sell directly to customers. Around CNY, shipping times and customs clearance can be unexpected. Customers in Colombia may not know how important the holiday is for Chinese production and logistics. You can avoid bad reviews and cancellations by using clear shipping messaging on your website, sending proactive updates on the progress of orders, and having clear customer care scripts.
Your customs brokers and logistical partners in Colombia are also very important. They can let you know about any new congestion at certain ports, changes in DIAN’s enforcement priorities, or changes to import procedures that could affect your CNY shipments. In exchange, you may give them entire paperwork packages and early shipment data. This will enable them pre-file entries and plan for clearance ahead of time.
How a Specialist Logistics Partner Like Topway Shipping Helps
When you send something to Colombia during Chinese New Year, you’re not just scheduling freight; you’re also coordinating a complicated chain that starts on a manufacturing floor in China and ends at a front door in Bogotá, Medellín, or Cali. One of the best methods to lower risk and uncertainty is to work with a logistics partner who knows a lot about cross-border e-commerce and international customs.
Topway Shipping, based in Shenzhen, China, has been a professional provider of cross-border e-commerce logistics solutions since 2010. The founding team has more than 15 years of experience in international logistics and customs clearance, with a special focus on the US and China. getting around. That same knowledge of how to deal with trade channels with a lot of volume and complexity works well in other parts of the Americas, including Colombia, where customs, last-mile delivery, and transit time reliability problems regularly come up.
Topway Shipping handles all parts of the logistics chain, from transporting goods from manufacturers or suppliers in China to international warehouses, helping with customs clearance, and delivering goods to their final destination. During CNY, when slight problems at any point can quickly turn into big problems, this end-to-end visibility is very important for cargo going to Colombia. Topway can help keep your cargo moving even when the market as a whole is under pressure by combining shipments, finding the best routes, and making sure all the paperwork is in order.
Topway Shipping offers flexible full-container-load (FCL) and less-than-container-load (LCL) solutions for ocean freight from China to key ports around the world. This flexibility is especially helpful for shippers who focus on Colombia and may need to mix regular FCL imports with occasional LCL top-ups, depending on demand and how much space they have in their warehouses. During CNY, being able to flip between these modes or change sailing timetables can mean the difference between running out of stock and having a consistent inventory.
If you want your brand to stay strong in Colombia over the CNY season, working with Topway Shipping will give you access to a staff that knows both the practical and strategic sides of cross-border logistics. Topway can be the only point of contact for many moving parts, from giving advice on the optimal cutoff dates before the holiday to dealing with customs paperwork and routing.
Conclusion
It doesn’t have to be a nightmare to ship to Colombia around Chinese New Year, but you do need to plan ahead more than you would at other times of the year. Chinese factories closing, limited capacity in air and sea freight, and Colombian customs’ tight documentation requirements all make this a unique seasonal difficulty for importers and online retailers.
To get through this time well, you need to know how CNY affects your supply chain, such as lengthier production lead times, longer transit windows, and higher shipping prices. You also need to know a lot about Colombia’s customs system so that your invoices, packing lists, HS classifications, and importer data are all correct and match up. That’s the key to avoiding delays, inspections, and extra storage or demurrage fees that aren’t necessary.
CNY may go from being a crazy time to a manageable one if you plan ahead, make reasonable delivery commitments, and talk openly with Colombian partners and end customers. When everyone else is fighting for space, your organization may stay strong by building up buffer inventory, using offshore warehousing, and finding the perfect mix between air and ocean freight.
Most importantly, working with a logistics company that has been around for a while can make things much easier for you to handle in-house. Topway Shipping has been specializing in cross-border e-commerce logistics for more than ten years. Their staff has more than 15 years of experience in international logistics and customs clearing. They offer the kind of end-to-end solutions that are most important during busy times like CNY. Topway Shipping can help you keep your Colombia supply chain steady, even when the rest of the world is on vacation. They can handle everything from first-leg transportation in China to customs clearance and last-mile delivery in destination markets. They also offer flexible FCL and LCL ocean freight options to major ports around the world.
FAQs
Q: How early should I start planning shipments to Colombia for Chinese New Year?
A: You should start arranging at least two to three months before CNY, especially if you are shipping by sea. You have ample time to set up production, book space on ships, and have the paperwork ready. If you share your projections and desired time windows with your logistics partner one to two months in advance for air freight or urgent shipments, you will have a far better chance of getting space at good pricing.
Q: Does CNY only affect shipments that depart during the holiday, or also after?
A: CNY affects shipments before, during, and after the holiday. As exporters scramble to ship out, vessels are already almost full in the weeks leading up to CNY. During the holiday, production slows down or stops, and some routes may have fewer trips. After the holiday, backlogs need to be cleared and equipment needs to be moved about. This can keep transit times high for a few more weeks.
Q: Are customs procedures in Colombia different during CNY?
A: The official customs norms in Colombia don’t change due of CNY, although things can feel different in practice. Customs and port operations can get busier because more cargo are going throughout the world, and some of them may be delayed or come in groups. This means that problems with paperwork or compliance are more likely to cause delays that are easy to see. During this time, it’s very crucial to have clear documents and help from knowledgeable customs officials.
Q: Is it better to ship FCL or LCL to Colombia during CNY?
A: Both FCL and LCL can work, however they act differently when they are under stress. Once you get a space with FCL, the schedules are usually more reliable. However, you need enough volume to fill or mostly fill a container. LCL is good for lesser amounts, but it can take longer to consolidate and deconsolidate, which is more visible at busy times. Using FCL for core inventory and LCL for top-ups is frequently the best way to go.
Q: How can a logistics provider like Topway Shipping reduce my CNY risks for Colombia?
A: A professional like Topway Shipping can help you in many ways, such as by giving you advice on booking windows and route selection, consolidating shipments, setting up overseas storage, coordinating paperwork to make customs clearance easier, and giving you both FCL and LCL choices based on your needs. With their knowledge in international logistics and customs clearance and their full-service offering, you can approach CNY with a clearer plan and fewer surprises.
