To buy palm oil or rubber from West Africa safely, run every deal through the same checklist: verify the seller before any money moves, agree a written specification and contract, have the cargo inspected by a surveyor you can contact yourself, check the original documents, and pay only against those documents. If a seller pushes you to skip any of these, walk away.
This page is the deal-by-deal checklist. For an overview of how a well-run purchase works, see buying commodities from West Africa.
Before you negotiate: red flags
Stop and check further if you see any of these:
- A price well below the market, with no explanation
- Pressure to decide within hours or days
- An offer full of jargon such as ICPO, LOI, SCO and FCO, but no specification or company details
- A request for payment before any contract, for "registration", "export permits" or "documents"
- Bank details in a personal name, or in a country unconnected with the seller
- Email from a free webmail address, or a domain that is one letter off a real company's
- A seller who cannot say where the product is stored or how it will be loaded
- Refusal of independent inspection
Our guide to commodity trade scams describes these patterns in detail.
Checklist: verify the seller
| Check | How |
|---|---|
| Company exists | Search the national business registry yourself; compare name, address and directors |
| Office is real | Visit, or have a local agent or your bank's correspondent visit |
| Track record | Ask for redacted bills of lading from past shipments; check vessel and dates |
| References | Ask for buyer references, then find their contact details independently |
| Bank account | Account in the company's name, in its country of operation; confirm by phone with a known contact |
| People | Speak to the people who will run your contract, not only a sales agent |
Moril Trading Enterprise Inc. is registered in Liberia (business registration number 053565514) and the Netherlands. We provide references to serious buyers.
Checklist: the offer and contract
- Written offer on company letterhead from a company email address
- Specification with numbers and test methods, not just "TSR20" or "CPO"
- Quantity, tolerance and packing
- Shipment period, load port and Incoterm
- Named inspection company and where results are final
- List of documents required for payment
- Payment terms that release money against documents
- Claims procedure, governing law and arbitration
See what to check in a commodity sales contract.
Checklist: before shipment
- Sample tested in your own or an independent laboratory
- Inspection booked with the named surveyor, or your own
- Booking confirmation from the shipping line, which you can check with the line
- For the EU: EUDR data package received and checked before loading
Checklist: documents
- Bill of lading: verify with the shipping line using its own tracking or office
- Certificate of analysis: confirm with the surveyor directly
- Weight or quantity certificate matches the bill of lading
- Certificate of origin issued by the competent authority
- Invoice matches contract price and quantity
- EUDR data matches lot numbers and quantities
Our guide to export documents explained covers each document.
Checklist: payment
- No full advance payment to a seller you have not traded with
- Letter of credit or cash against documents for first orders
- Any change of bank details confirmed by phone with a known contact, never by email alone
- Deposits, if any, small and tied to a signed contract
Read LC vs CAD vs TT for the trade-offs.
Start small
A first order should be small enough that you can afford a problem: one or two containers, not a year's supply. Use it to test quality, documents and the seller's response to questions. Increase volume once the first shipments have arrived as agreed.
If something goes wrong
Stop payment if you can. Contact your bank, the shipping line and the surveyor. Keep all emails and documents. If you have been defrauded, report it to the police in your country and to the authorities in the seller's country. The earlier you act, the better the chance of stopping funds.