Buyer Process

How an Introduction Works

Sarpah is a mandated agent. We introduce qualified East African institutional buyers to vetted upstream originators across the Russia–CIS corridor under NCNDA / IMFPA. The buyer and the originator contract directly. Bank instruments flow buyer-side bank to seller-side bank. We are not a counterparty to the SPA, do not appear on any instrument, and do not take title to cargo. Commission is paid to Sarpah under NCNDA / IMFPA.

Below is what the work looks like, in five stages.

---

Stage 1 — Enquiry and Qualification

You share the brief. Most useful inputs:

• Commodity and grade (e.g. urea 46.2% N granular, GOST 2081-2010; or Russian milling wheat 12.5% protein)
• Volume per shipment and total annual volume
• Destination port and onward destination (Mombasa for direct discharge; or onward EAC SCT delivery)
• Preferred bank instrument and your bank's preferred confirmation route
• Target shipment window
• Buyer regulatory credential where applicable (FAFB registration (fertilizer, Cap 345) / KEBS standardisation / KEPHIS importer / AFA registration (for AFA-scheduled crops only — cereals, sugar, coffee, tea, horticulture) / KNTC framework / KTDA tender qualification / NFSP registry)

We acknowledge within two banking days. We run KYC and sanctions screening on the buyer at this stage against OFAC SDN, OFSI Consolidated, EU CFSP, UN Security Council Sanctions and the Kenya FRC POCAMLA register. We discuss the corridor options that match your specification, and the originator panel we can introduce you to. If you are tendering NCPB, KTDA, KNTC, AFA-scheduled-crop tenders or county-government volume, we also discuss the bid-bond and performance-bond structure your bank will need to issue.

This stage is conversational and relational. There is no LOI requirement and no procedural gate.

First 7 days

How Sarpah is paid

Sarpah is paid commission under NCNDA / IMFPA — structured per ICC framework, with terms agreed at engagement and discussed under NDA. The originator's indicative offer is the producer-side clean price; you verify it against alternate origins.

End-to-end timeline

The window is corridor- and instrument-dependent. Multi-shipment frame contracts compress materially after the first cargo.

Buyer KYC checklist

For a clean Stage 1, the buyer prepares:

• Certificate of Incorporation and CR12 (Kenya — Companies Registry)
• Board resolution naming signatories on the SPA and on the bank instrument
• Beneficial-ownership certificate (BO disclosure under the Beneficial Ownership Regulations 2020)
• Regulatory credentials in scope: FAFB registration (fertilizer, Cap 345); KEBS standardisation; KEPHIS importer permit; AFA registration (for AFA-scheduled crops); KNTC framework status; KTDA tender qualification; NFSP registry
• Audited accounts (most recent two financial years)
• Bank reference letter from your tier-1 Kenyan bank evidencing the working facility line
• Draft DLC application (or APG / SBLC application), pre-screened by your bank's group sanctions office

A clean KYC pack at Stage 1 reduces your end-to-end timeline by ~5–7 banking days.

---

Stage 2 — Indicative Pricing

We relay the upstream originator's indicative offer — corridor, loadport, FOB or CFR/CIF Mombasa price, vessel type, document list, validity. You and your team verify against alternate origins and other corridor options. If the indicative pricing is workable, we set up the introduction.

---

Stage 3 — Direct SPA Negotiation

The buyer and the originator execute the Sales and Purchase Agreement directly under ICC rules. Sarpah is not a counterparty. We support both sides through document choreography, but the SPA is a buyer-seller contract. Typical SPA contents:

• Parties, recitals and definitions
• Commodity specification, including reference standards (GOST, KS, EAS or international as relevant)
• Volume, tolerance, parcel size
• Price, payment terms and instrument
• Inspection regime under the contracted KEBS PVoC partner (2026–2029 cycle; appointed-firm list at /compliance/kebs-pvoc)
• Document list under UCP 600 (with B/L scoped to Article 22 charter-party for bulk; Articles 19/20 for non-charter)
• Vessel nomination, laytime, demurrage and dispatch
• Delivery terms (Incoterms 2020 — FOB, CFR, CIF as agreed)
• Force majeure
• Governing law and arbitration (LCIA, ICC, or Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration as agreed)
• Sanctions clause referencing OFAC GL 6D, OFSI agricultural licences, EU 833/2014 Article 12b derogations and recital language on food security
• Anti-bribery, anti-money-laundering and AML/CFT representations
• Insurance article (UCP 600 Article 28; minimum 110% CIF; IG Group P&I cover)

NCNDA / IMFPA is signed at the seller side, between Sarpah and the originator (or originator's mandated representative). The IMFPA is the mandate instrument; specifics are agreed at engagement under the ICC framework.

---

Stage 4 — Bank Instrument and Inspection

Instrument issuance

Your bank issues the contracted instrument directly to the seller's bank. Sarpah does not appear on the instrument. For DLC under UCP 600, your bank transmits MT700 to the advising bank in the seller's country; confirmation by a non-designated prime correspondent is added if the SPA requires it, with routing selected per cargo at the buyer's bank's group sanctions office. The European-prime confirming-bank universe for Russia-touching trade finance has narrowed materially for new business; operational corridors lean on AED via Mashreq / Emirates NBD and CNY via CIPS direct participants. For SBLC under ISP98 or URDG 758, the bank transmits MT760, with field 40C tagged to the applicable rule set. For MT103 prepayment, the seller's bank issues an Advance Payment Guarantee under URDG 758 covering the prepaid amount, callable on the buyer's first demand with the URDG 758 Article 15 supporting statement. For the bank-side detail, see /compliance/ucp-600, /compliance/urdg-758 and /compliance/sblc-isp98.

Pre-shipment inspection and PVoC

Your contracted PVoC partner — under the KEBS 2026–2029 cycle — conducts pre-shipment inspection at the load port. Inspection covers quantity verification (load-port draft survey or weighbridge), quality sampling and laboratory analysis, packaging, marking, hold cleanliness and vessel suitability. The inspector issues a Certificate of Inspection. Concurrently, the inspector — operating under its KEBS PVoC mandate — issues the Certificate of Conformity (CoC) under KEBS Route A, B or C, depending on the buyer's product registration status with KEBS and the Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board where applicable.

Fertilizer is restricted to KEBS PVoC Route A only under current KEBS policy (recurring non-compliance history). Route B and Route C apply to non-fertilizer regulated categories — vehicles, electronics, FMCG. See /compliance/kebs-pvoc.

For Russian and Belarusian load ports: SGS Russia operations cover Moscow, St Petersburg, Murmansk and Vladivostok. For Kazakhstan: SGS Almaty and Astana. For Black Sea transit through Poti: Bureau Veritas. For Constanta (Romania): SGS, subject to Romanian terminal-operator policy on Russian-origin transit.

For plant-derived commodities (wheat, sunflower oil, rapeseed, peas, rice, corn, barley), the origin NPPO (Rosselkhoznadzor in Russia, the State Plant Quarantine Service in Kazakhstan) issues the Phytosanitary Certificate dated within KEPHIS-acceptable window of vessel sailing. Compliance with IPPC ISPM-12 standards. Fumigation, where required by the KEPHIS import permit, is conducted before loading and certified by a licensed fumigator.

For fertilizer cargoes: the buyer is the importer of record under Cap 345 (Fertilizers and Animal Foodstuffs Act) and the buyer's product registration with the Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board / KEBS is in force.

---

Stage 5 — Sailing, Discharge and Settlement

Sailing

The first parcel sails per the contracted schedule. The Bill of Lading is issued at the load port — clean on board, consigned to order of the issuing bank, blank endorsed, marked freight prepaid (CIF/CFR) or freight collect (FOB).

The seller presents the document set to the nominated bank within the LC presentation period (typically 21 calendar days from B/L date, never after LC expiry). The bank examines on the standard of "documents on their face" within five banking days under UCP 600 Article 14. On compliance, honour and reimbursement are executed.

For MT103-prepayment cargoes, the seller releases the document set on confirmation of vessel sailing and APG validity.

Discharge at Mombasa

Pre-arrival lodgement is your clearing agent's task. Sarpah coordinates documents and partners; the buyer is the importer of record and the document lodger.

• IDF lodged on KenTrade (2.5% of CIF; minimum KES 5,000)
• KRA Bill of Entry (Form C17) lodged in iCMS
• KEBS CoC uploaded
• Buyer's Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board registration referenced for fertilizer cargoes
• KEPHIS permit referenced for plant cargoes
• Kenya Sugar Board permit referenced for sugar

Vessel arrives Mombasa outer anchorage. Berthing window: 1–3 days at GBHL Berths 3 & 4 (bulk grain — combined system throughput 1,800 MT/hour peak / 20,000 MT/day; alternate operator Portside Freight Terminals since the Feb 2024 Court of Appeal ruling) or general-cargo Berths 1–2 / 5–10 (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.

KRA risk-management routing: Green lane releases on document review; Yellow requires document examination; Red requires physical inspection; Blue is post-clearance audit. KEBS surveillance sample on Route A consignments. KEPHIS plant inspection on grain and oilseed.

Customs release on payment of import duties (per EAC CET — typically 0% on fertilizer; 10% stayed on milling wheat; 50% EAC base on maize with Kenya stay to 0% during gazetted deficit windows; 25% EAC base on refined sunflower oil; 10% EAC base on crude palm oil; 100% / USD 460/MT on sugar with Sugar Development Levy 4% under Sugar Act 2024); VAT (zero-rated on unprocessed grain; exempt on fertilizer under Finance Act 2025 — same end-consumer effect as zero-rated, but supplier input VAT on freight and services is not recoverable; 16% on refined oil and sugar); Import Declaration Fee 2.5%; Railway Development Levy 2%; AFA Cess 1–4% on AFA-scheduled crops (cereals, sugar, coffee, tea, horticulture, fibre, nuts and oils, miraa, pyrethrum) — not levied on fertilizer (FAFB / Cap 345 governs fertilizer; see /compliance/fafb).

Inland delivery

Your appointed forwarder runs the inland leg under EAC Single Customs Territory protocols. Indicative rates from the NCTTCA Northern Corridor Transport Observatory:

• Mombasa to Nairobi (ICD Embakasi): SGR or road. SGR transit 24–36 hours pad-to-pad; road 10–14 hours. SGR conventional bulk USD 18–25 per MT.
• Nairobi to Eldoret: road via A104; 8–10 hours.
• Mombasa to Kampala: Northern Corridor SCT; 1,170 km; USD 110–160 per MT typical 28-tonne flatbed (Kenya truckers' announced 14% rate uplift for 2026); 7-day median transit (range 4–10 days); cleared on Mombasa entry, no double clearance at Malaba. SGR Mombasa–Naivasha (553 km) then truck onward via A104 to Malaba/Busia border; the continuous SGR extension to Malaba broke ground March 2026 and is in service 2028+.
• Mombasa to Kigali: via Kampala and Gatuna; 7–10 days.
• Mombasa to Bujumbura: via Kampala and Akanyaru; 8–11 days.
• Mombasa to Juba: via Lokichoggio and Nimule; 10–14 days.
• Mombasa to Lubumbashi (DRC): via Kampala / Kasumbalesa; multi-modal.

Delivery is to your nominated warehouse, NCPB depot, mill, refinery, fertilizer-blending plant, or onward inland off-take. Final KEBS Diamond Mark or Standardization Mark licensing for downstream resale (where applicable) is your responsibility.

Settlement

For DLC and SBLC settlement, payment is by TT against shipping documents, with the LC remaining as guarantee for further shipments under multi-shipment SPAs. For MT103-APG settlement, the APG is released on your confirmation of cargo conformity and discharge.

Final reconciliation includes discharge weight vs. B/L weight, demurrage or dispatch under charter, and deductions for off-spec material under SPA tolerance. Sarpah's commission settles under the IMFPA terms agreed at engagement.

The transaction file is archived with full document chain — IDF, CoC, COA, B/L, CO, phyto, fumigation, insurance, customs entry, payment confirmations — for KRA Post-Clearance Audit (TFA Article 7.5) compliance.

---

Demurrage worked example

For a 25,000 MT urea cargo at Mombasa under a typical charter:

Demurrage and storage clocks are independent. A Mombasa berthing-window queue beyond the laytime allowance triggers demurrage payable to the carrier. A KEBS or KRA hold inside the discharge window does not pause the laytime clock unless the SPA expressly carves it out.

---

When something goes wrong

The architecture is mature, but cargoes hit friction. What Sarpah does at each fault line:

• Off-spec at KEBS surveillance. A Route A surveillance sample failing a KS specification (KS 1900-1 urea, KS 1900-3 DAP, KS EAS 2 maize, KS EAS 44 aflatoxin ceiling, etc.) triggers a hold on KRA release. Sarpah coordinates with the buyer's PVoC partner on re-sampling, dispute referral to KEBS, or rejection-to-origin under the SPA quality clause. The buyer's marine cargo insurer is engaged for the rejection-to-origin pathway.
• Document discrepancy at presentation. The bank notice under UCP 600 Article 16 is a single notice with all discrepancies, no later than the close of the fifth banking day. Sarpah coordinates the seller's re-presentation with corrected documents within the LC presentation period, or — where the discrepancy is fatal — supports the buyer's instructions to the issuing bank on waiver acceptance or refusal.
• Sanctions-list shock between fixture and sailing. A vessel added to the OFAC SDN vessel list, UK Russia Schedule 6, EU Annex XLII or G-7 shadow-fleet advisory between fixture and sailing is replaced by the seller; the SPA carries the standard sanctions clause. Sarpah re-runs the vessel screen and coordinates the substitution.
• Vessel arrest at a transit port. Cargo continuity is preserved through the SPA force-majeure clause and the buyer's marine cargo insurance (IG Group P&I cover, 110% CIF). Sarpah supports the documentation pathway under URDG 758 Article 26 (force majeure) where an APG is in play.
• Force majeure at origin. Strike, port closure, blockade, sanctions package, regulatory hold. The SPA force-majeure clause is the operative instrument. Sarpah supports the structured suspension and the post-FM resumption window under URDG 758 Article 26 where applicable.
• KRA red-lane physical inspection. The buyer's clearing agent runs the lane. Sarpah supports through document re-presentation; where the holdup is at KEBS surveillance versus KRA documentation, the routes diverge and the response differs.
• Demurrage dispute. Reconciliation against statement of facts, vessel log and KPA berth records. Sarpah supports through documentation; the SPA dispute clause governs escalation.
• Final-weight or off-spec under SPA tolerance. Reconciliation per the SPA contractual tolerance bands; deductions or top-up payments routed through the same instrument chain. Sarpah supports the calculation against the surveyor's discharge report.
• Dispute escalation. SPA arbitration forum (LCIA, ICC, NCIA). Sarpah does not arbitrate but stays in the conversation and supports both sides' documentation.

Sarpah's role in every fault-line scenario is introducer, documentation choreographer and relational continuity. We are not a counterparty to the SPA, are not on the instrument chain, and do not arbitrate. Where the buyer's clearing agent or insurer is the right interface, we coordinate; we do not displace.

---

Corridor Reference Cargoes

The following are verified corridor patterns from public-source flow data — operational shape, not counterparty narrative. These are the cargo profiles a Sarpah introduction operates within.

Note on Sarpah-specific case histories. Anonymised Sarpah-introduced cargo records — full B/L, KEBS Certificate of Conformity, statement of facts at discharge, demurrage settlement and IMFPA reconciliation — are shared on request under NCNDA at Stage 1 of the buyer process. The table above is the verifiable public-corridor pattern that frames every introduction.

---

What Sarpah Does Across the Five Stages

Throughout the introduction, our work is consistent:

• We introduce, qualify, and stay close to both sides of the cargo through inspection, sailing, discharge and settlement.
• We coordinate the documentation chain — KEBS PVoC partner, KEPHIS phyto, Certificate of Origin, COA — so that the seller's presentation matches the buyer's bank's requirements.
• We are the relational continuity through the corridor — the same conversation across the next cargo, the next NPK cycle, the next NCPB tender.

We do not lodge the IDF, do not sign the C17, do not appear on the Bill of Lading consignee field, and do not appear on any bank instrument. The buyer is the importer of record. The seller is the principal. Sarpah is the introducer.

Talk to us →