The supplier tells you "30 days" and means the ship. You need to know on what day you will have the goods in your warehouse, and between one and the other there is a factory, two ports and a customs office.
In short: as a market reference as of October 2026, importing from China to Chile by sea takes between 40 and 55 days door to door without counting manufacturing, and between 60 and 90 days if the product is made to order. By air it takes 7 to 12 days. None of these timeframes is official or guaranteed, so the prudent approach is to count backward from the date you need the stock and add three weeks of buffer.
How long does it take to import from China to Chile, stage by stage?
There is no official timeframe for importing from China to Chile: neither Chilean Customs (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas) nor the ports publish committed times. All the timeframes in this article are market references as of October 2026.
| Stage | Reference range | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Production | 15 days to 3 months | Product, custom order and factory workload |
| Pre-shipment inspection | 1 day, with a same-day report | No corrections or re-inspection needed |
| Packing and documents | 3 to 7 days | Invoice, packing list and certificate of origin |
| Transfer to the Chinese port | 3 to 10 days | Distance between the factory and the port |
| Ocean transit | 28 to 45 days | Port of origin and transshipments |
| Unloading and pickup in Chile | 2 to 4 days for a full container; 5 to 9 days for consolidated cargo | Terminal and deconsolidation |
| Customs | 1 to 3 days with no observations; 3 to 10 more days if there is an inspection | Documents and physical inspection (aforo) |
| Port to warehouse | 1 to 3 days | Destination and truck availability |
Note: market references as of October 2026. There is no official timeframe for any of these stages.
The rows are not added one after another. The inspection, the documents and booking space on the ship move forward while the factory finishes, and part of the customs procedure is prepared before arrival.
How many days does the ship take, depending on the Chinese port?
| Origin and mode | To San Antonio or Valparaíso |
|---|---|
| Shanghai, full container | 28 to 40 days |
| Ningbo, full container | 28 to 41 days |
| Shenzhen, full container | 30 to 42 days |
| Qingdao, full container | 32 to 45 days |
| Consolidated cargo (LCL), any port | 35 to 50 days |
| Air to Santiago, airport to airport | 3 to 7 days |
| Air to Santiago, door to door | 7 to 12 days |
Note: market references as of October 2026, port to port for ocean freight. There is no official transit timeframe.
The ranges are wide because published references do not agree with each other and because they do not distinguish a direct service from a service with transshipment. A transshipment adds between 5 and 15 days. When you are offered a "direct" service, ask whether the container changes vessel at any port: a ship can make port calls without your cargo being moved, and that is different from a transshipment.
The difference between a full container and consolidated cargo is explained in FCL, LCL and consolidated cargo.
What delays a shipment from China?
Chinese holidays
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on February 6. In 2026 the official holiday ran from February 15 to 23, and the official 2027 calendar for mainland China has not been published yet, so you need to ask for the factory's actual closure dates in writing. The October Golden Week (October 1 to 7 in 2026) is the second break of the year.
Schedules that are not met
According to a private shipping industry measurement published in September 2026, only 49.9% of the world's vessels arrived on the announced date in August, and those that were late arrived an average of 6.81 days late. This is a global figure, not one for the route between China and Chile. In September 2026, waits of several days to berth in Shanghai and Ningbo were also reported.
Canceled sailings
Around long holidays, shipping lines cancel voyages (blank sailings). If your container is left out, it moves to a later departure.
Chile's fruit season
Between November and early April, with the peak between late December and January, the ports of the central zone handle fruit exports. It is wise to coordinate pickup and trucking further in advance during those months.
Heavy swells
San Antonio and Valparaíso may restrict operations because of swells. There is no closure calendar: the Maritime Authority (Autoridad Marítima) publishes restrictions daily.
A late arrival can also eat into the container's free days, a topic we cover in demurrage and storage.
Backward calendar: when should you order to have stock by a given date?
Start from the date you need the goods in your warehouse and subtract each stage. Below is an example with explicit assumptions for an order that is manufactured to order and travels by sea:
| Stage | Days assumed in the example |
|---|---|
| Production | 45 |
| Inspection and corrections | 7 |
| Transfer to port and wait for shipment | 10 |
| Ocean transit | 40 |
| Port, customs and delivery to warehouse | 10 |
| Buffer | 21 |
| Total | 133 days |
With those 133 calendar days, the example works out like this:
- Stock on March 1, 2027: the order is placed around October 19, 2026. The cargo is ready in early December and the ship sails before Christmas, well clear of Chinese New Year.
- Stock on April 1, 2027: the order is placed around November 19, 2026, and you need to confirm that the factory finishes and ships before it closes for the holiday.
- Stock on December 1, 2027: the order is placed around July 21, 2027, so that the shipment leaves before Golden Week.
For your own case, replace each assumption with your data: the production time your supplier confirms, the port of departure and whether the service involves transshipment. The 21-day buffer is a planning criterion that covers a delayed vessel and a customs inspection, but a product that needs certification or approval requires more.
When to use air freight as plan B?
Air freight cuts the trip to one or two weeks. It is useful when the ocean order will no longer arrive on time: you send by air the portion that keeps you from running out of stock, and the rest continues by sea. The cost comparison is in ocean freight vs. air freight.
What SICE does in this case and where its responsibility ends
SICE coordinates the import from China through its network of freight forwarders, customs brokers (agentes de aduana) and domestic transport. Before shipment, SICE contacts the supplier and reviews the invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and transport document, so they don't reach clearance with errors. The schedule is set by the shipping line, the declaration is processed by the customs broker, and the physical inspection is decided by Customs. SICE does not control those timeframes: it coordinates its network around them.
Frequently asked questions
How long does customs take in Chile?
There is no official timeframe. As a market reference, 1 to 3 days when the documents are in order, and several more days if the cargo is selected for inspection.
Can I order in December to receive in March?
With a product that takes 45 days to manufacture it is very tight, because the cargo would be ready between mid-January and mid-February, right on top of Chinese New Year. With a product the supplier has in stock, the timeframe is more comfortable.
Is Shanghai faster than Shenzhen?
In the published ranges, the difference is a couple of days. Whether the service is direct or involves transshipment matters more.
Is the timeframe my supplier gives me useful?
It usually refers to production or to the ship, separately. Ask for the cargo-ready date and build the rest of the calendar yourself, as in the step-by-step guide.
Official sources (in Spanish)
- Customs: what to do to import goods: supporting documents for clearance.
- ChileAtiende: payment of customs duties: payment proceeds once the declaration is validated.
- DIRECTEMAR: port status (SITPORT): port restrictions due to swells, in real time.
- Valparaíso Port Company: fruit season: busiest months.
- Government of China: 2026 holiday calendar: Chinese New Year and Golden Week 2026.
- Hong Kong Government: 2027 holidays: date of Chinese New Year 2027.
If you have a delivery date committed to your customers, ask for the free complete quote: the total landed cost delivered to your warehouse, in writing, with firm freight, insurance, transport and fees, and estimated taxes. You can also write on WhatsApp to +56 9 9872 6863.
