About Sarpah

Who We Are

Sarpah is a mandated agent. We introduce qualified East African institutional buyers to upstream originators of bulk commodities across the Russia–CIS corridor — Black Sea, Baltic, Caspian and Far East — under the standard NCNDA / IMFPA discipline. We are paid commission by the seller side.

Our role is introduction, qualification, documentation choreography and relational continuity through inspection, sailing, discharge and settlement. We are not on the bank-instrument chain, we do not take title to cargo, and we do not warehouse. The buyer holds the buyer-side bank relationship; the seller holds the seller-side bank relationship; the buyer is the importer of record at Mombasa.

The Three Audiences We Serve

East African institutional buyers

Kenyan flour millers, fertilizer blenders, edible-oil refiners, sugar processors, tea estates, NCPB-prequalified suppliers, KTDA tender bidders, KNTC framework counterparties, NSE-listed agro-corporates, cement majors, KEBS-registered industrial buyers, UN agencies procuring through UNGM, and county-government procurement units with verified KIAMIS roles. The work for you is clean introductions, document discipline, and a corridor partner who stays in the conversation through inspection, sailing, discharge and settlement.

Upstream originators

Producers and producer-affiliated trading houses across the Russia–CIS corridor — Russian wheat originators on the Black Sea and Baltic; Russian fertilizer producers (PhosAgro, Acron, EuroChem, Uralkali, Uralchem and others, with producer-entity status, disclosed beneficial ownership and per-cargo ownership-and-control test review at SPA stage); Kazakh fertilizer and sulphur producers; Far East Russian and Chinese specialty fertilizer suppliers; sawn timber and plywood mills. The work for you is qualified East African end-buyers under NCNDA / IMFPA discipline, with documentation chains that hold up in Kenyan tier-1 banks. Commission is paid to Sarpah under IMFPA. Mandate structure, KYC handover and reporting cadence are on the Originators page.

Prospective sub-agents

Mandated representatives in Kampala, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, Juba, Addis Ababa and Lubumbashi. The Northern Corridor SCT extends well beyond Mombasa into the wider EAC and the southern DRC copper belt. If you can introduce institutional buyers in your market, the sub-agent network describes scope, engagement terms, NCNDA/IMFPA respect, and the support we provide.

The Lines We Introduce

Fertilizers

Urea (granular and prilled, GOST 2081-2010); DAP (NP 18:46); MAP and MPK; MOP (granulated, fine-grained and fine, K₂O ≥ 60% — non-designated Russian producers); SOP (K₂O 52%); NOP (K 46%); CAN (calcium ammonium nitrate, 26–29% N); ammonium sulphate; ammonium nitrate (29–34.4% N) — note: dual-use precursor regime applies; ammophos 12-52; calcium nitrate (specialty horticulture); compound NPK across 17-17-17, 10-26-26, 23-23-0, 20-20-0, 26:5:5+S+Zn+B (KTDA tea), and specialty NPK formulations on request.

Grain and food

Russian milling wheat at 11.5% (standard milling) and 12.5% protein (premium bread); 9–10.5% protein soft / feed wheat (the lower band is feed wheat in the Kenyan market, not milling — see grade page for application); barley (EABL malting and feed); peas (21% protein, plant-protein feed); soybeans (Brazilian/Argentinian dominance acknowledged; Russian opportunistic); corn / maize (yellow feed for Kenchic, Sigma, Unga Farm Care; white maize on NCPB emergency tender only); Brazilian sugar Icumsa-45 (subject to Kenya Sugar Board permit and quota framework under the Sugar Act 2024); crude palm oil (Bidco, Pwani refining-feedstock flow ex Malaysia/Indonesia); sunflower oil (small-volume retail premium); Pakistani basmati and IRRI-6 rice (the institutional segment).

Industrial

Petroleum coke — anode grade B and baking grade — non-Rosneft producer chains only (the Tuapse marine terminal is Rosneft-operated and is not in scope); technical sulphur (granular, ≥ 99.5% purity, ex Kazakhstan / Qatar; recurring buyer is Kel Chemicals at Thika).

Timber

Plywood (Russian birch and coniferous, premium furniture and marine applications); chipboard and OSB (some construction demand); softwood sawn (a meaningful Kenyan construction-merchant flow alongside locally produced timber). Russian and Belarusian-origin wood is prohibited for import into the EU and UK under Reg 833/2014 / 765/2006 and aligned measures; lawful for Kenyan import. Buyers with EU/UK downstream offtake should verify own export-channel risk; EUDR introduces downstream traceability requirements from end 2025.

Where we don't operate. Anhydrous ammonia (no Mombasa NH₃ import terminal); UAN-32 and other liquid fertilizers (no bulk liquid fertilizer terminal at Mombasa, no inland UAN distribution); LNG (no commercial LNG regasification at Mombasa or Lamu in 2026; Russian Arctic LNG infrastructure sits inside the OFAC-designated Arctic LNG 2 / Novatek perimeter); rapeseed seed; wheat flour at scale (CET 60% Kenya stay protects domestic milling). For Belaruskali / BPC, Tuapse marine terminal (Rosneft) and the producer-UBO ownership-and-control regime, see Sanctions, AML & KYC.

How We Work

The protocol is identical for every cargo and is independent of the upstream relationship.

Origination. We introduce buyers to producers and producer-affiliated trading houses with ISO 9001:2015 certification, IFA membership where applicable, and a documented export track record into Sub-Saharan Africa.

Inspection. Quality at the load port is independently verified by the buyer's contracted KEBS PVoC partner under the 2026–2029 cycle (effective 19 February 2026); the appointed-firm list is on /compliance/kebs-pvoc.

Documentation. Certificates of Origin are issued by the country-of-origin chamber (Russian Federal Chamber of Commerce, Kazakh CCI, Uzbek CCI as applicable). Phytosanitary certificates by the origin NPPO (Rosselkhoznadzor for Russia). PVoC Certificate of Conformity by the contracted KEBS partner.

Settlement. The buyer's bank issues the documentary credit, standby letter of credit, or advance-payment guarantee directly to the seller's bank under UCP 600, ISP98 or URDG 758. The seller's bank advises or — where required — confirms the instrument. Sarpah is not on the instrument chain. We support the buyer through the document preparation that helps the seller's presentation match field 46A.

Kenyan tier-1 banks routinely active in this corridor: KCB, Equity, Stanbic Kenya, NCBA, ABSA Kenya, Standard Chartered Kenya, Diamond Trust Bank, Co-operative Bank. Confirmation routing is selected per cargo subject to the buyer's bank's group sanctions office sign-off. The European-prime confirming-bank universe for Russia-touching trade finance has narrowed to substantially nil for new business through 2022–2026; Commerzbank stopped new Russia business in 2022 and reconfirmed in March 2025 it will continue the exit even after a ceasefire, and RBI Vienna is in active wind-down under ECB SREP measures. Operational routing in 2026 leans on AED via Mashreq / Emirates NBD and CNY via CIPS direct participants (Standard Bank of South Africa, Afreximbank, Bank of China, ICBC; Ecobank from 2026).

Sanctions. Screening is executed at three points: counterparty onboarding, pre-shipment, pre-payment. Lists screened: OFAC SDN, OFSI Consolidated, EU CFSP, UN Security Council Sanctions, and the Kenya Financial Reporting Centre POCAMLA register. Fertilizer and grain trade with non-designated counterparties is supported under OFAC General Licence 6D (June 2024), OFSI agricultural licences and EU 833/2014 recital and Article 12b derogations on food security. We do not introduce buyers to designated banks, designated individuals, or counterparties in active wind-down.

The Documentation Stack

For every cargo:

• Signed commercial invoice (UCP 600 Article 18)
• Charter-party Bill of Lading (UCP 600 Article 22 + ISBP 821 G6–G11) for bulk; multimodal/marine bill (Articles 19/20) where the cargo contemplates non-charter shipment; consigned to order of issuing bank, blank endorsed
• Certificate of Origin from origin Chamber of Commerce
• KEBS Certificate of Conformity (PVoC), issued by the contracted partner under the 2026–2029 cycle, KEBS Routes A, B or C
• Phytosanitary Certificate from origin NPPO — for plant-derived commodities, dated within KEPHIS-acceptable window (typically 14 days of vessel sailing, per KEPHIS practice)
• Fumigation Certificate where required
• Certificate of Analysis (COA) at load port
• Certificate of Weight from independent surveyor
• Insurance certificate covering minimum 110% of CIF, IG Group P&I cover (non-IG cover is not accepted under SPA terms)
• Buyer-side regulatory: KEPHIS import permit for plant cargoes; KEBS standardisation; product registration with the Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board (Cap 345 framework) for fertilizer; Kenya Sugar Board permit for sugar
• Packing list

Pre-arrival lodgement is the buyer's clearing agent's task — we coordinate, we don't lodge. The buyer is the importer of record on the IDF, KEPHIS permit and the KRA Bill of Entry.

How Settlement Architecture Works

• Documentary credits (UCP 600). Most cargoes settle against an irrevocable DLC issued by the buyer's Kenyan bank, advised through a non-designated correspondent in Frankfurt or Vienna, and presented to the seller's bank.
• Standby letters of credit (ISP98 / URDG 758). For multi-shipment annual SPAs, the SBLC structure provides rolling credit with reduced documentation per shipment. The instrument vehicle is MT760, with field 40C tagged to the applicable rule set. ISP98 is purpose-built for standbys; URDG 758 where the issuer prefers demand-guarantee discipline. (ISP98 is not US-domestic — it is the international rulebook for SBLCs.)
• MT103 prepayment with APG (URDG 758). Where the producer requires factory-direct payment, the seller's bank issues an Advance Payment Guarantee under URDG 758 covering the prepaid amount. The buyer's MT103 release is conditional on the buyer's bank authenticating the operative MT760 — not concurrent with it.
• Performance and bid bonds (URDG 758). On annual or multi-shipment supply contracts, performance bonds (5–10% of contract value, contract term plus 30 days). For NCPB, KNTC, KTDA, AFA and county-government tenders, the bidder's bank issues bid bonds under URDG 758 (typically 2–5% of tender value); we introduce the bidder to producers whose banks will issue the corresponding APG. Sarpah does not place or hold instruments.
• Cross-border structure. URDG 758 has no confirmation mechanism. Cross-border guarantees use counter-guarantee under URDG 758 Articles 2 and 22: the guarantor's bank in the beneficiary's country issues a local guarantee against an applicant-bank counter-guarantee. UCP 600 confirmation under Article 8 applies only to documentary credits.

The Logistics Layer

Mombasa is the operational discharge port. KPA bulk handling at Berths 3 & 4 (operated under licence by GBHL) for bulk grain — combined system throughput 1,800 MT/hour peak / 20,000 MT/day across two Bühler Portalino lines; 220,000 MT grain storage and 65,000 MT fertilizer storage at the GBHL terminal (414,300 MT total dry-bulk capacity) outside the port footprint. The Court of Appeal ruling in February 2024 broke the GBHL monopoly; Portside Freight Terminals is now an alternate bulk-grain operator. General-cargo Berths 1–2 and 5–10 handle bulk fertilizer with grab discharge.

KPA Tariff Book 2025 (effective 22 December 2025) free-storage windows: 4 days domestic / 15 days transit for containers; bulk grain at GBHL silos operates under separate concession terms.

The buyer's clearing agent runs the discharge, the IDF, the C17, and the inland transit. Inland transit operates under EAC Single Customs Territory protocols. Indicative rates per the NCTTCA Northern Corridor Transport Observatory:

• Mombasa to Nairobi: 482 km road, 472 km SGR. SGR conventional bulk USD 18–25 per MT (per KRC schedule USD 0.044/ton-km, before promotional discounts); containers USD 510 (20ft) / USD 725–775 (40ft). Road USD 60–95 per MT.
• Mombasa to Eldoret (NCPB): Nairobi onward 314 km road, USD 35–55 per MT.
• Mombasa to Kampala: 1,170 km, USD 110–160 per MT typical 28-tonne flatbed; 7-day median transit under SCT seal (range 4–10 days).
• Mombasa to Kigali: 1,710 km via Kampala–Gatuna; USD 190–270 per MT; 7–10 days.
• Mombasa to Bujumbura: 1,900 km via Kampala–Akanyaru; 8–11 days.
• Mombasa to Juba: 1,950 km via Lokichoggio–Nimule; 10–14 days.
• Mombasa to Lubumbashi (DRC): via Kampala / Kasumbalesa; multi-modal, route-specific timing.
• Mombasa to Addis Ababa: alternate routing via Djibouti or Berbera typically preferred; we work with Ethiopian buyers on corridor selection per cargo.

Why a Mandated Agent

This is the model the Russian commodity trade has used with Turkey, Egypt, India and Bangladesh for two decades. We are positioning it for the East African institutional buyer.

The historical routing for Russia–CIS commodity flow into East Africa added a Dubai or Singapore broker, repackaged the cargo, re-quoted FOB-stamped to Mombasa, and removed the buyer from the documentary chain. That layer adds 8–15 percent to landed cost and dilutes accountability. The mandated-agent model — operating locally, paid commission by the seller, introducing buyer and originator directly under NCNDA / IMFPA — preserves the documentary chain end-to-end. Buyer and originator contract directly. Bank instruments flow buyer-side bank to seller-side bank. We are present, we coordinate, we are accountable for the introduction, and we are paid by the seller for the work we do.

Talk to us

For a buyer introduction, share commodity, volume, target shipment window, your bank's preferred confirmation route, and your FAFB (fertilizer) / KEBS / NFSP / KNTC / KTDA credentials.

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Sarpah operates as a mandated agent under NCNDA / IMFPA. Commission is paid by the seller side. Buyer and seller contract directly under ICC rules; Sarpah introduces, qualifies and choreographs.