Incoterms 2020: CIF, FOB, EXW, DAP in stone exports

Why Incoterms matter for stone

Natural stone ships heavy: crated slabs and blocks move by container, and freight, port handling and insurance are a real share of the landed cost. Two offers with the same per-square-meter price can differ by thousands of dollars once you account for who pays which leg of the journey. Incoterms — the ICC's standard trade terms — are how buyer and supplier agree on exactly that.

The four you'll see most

EXW (Ex Works): the buyer collects the goods at the supplier's premises — the factory or quarry — and handles everything from there: loading, export clearance, freight, insurance, import. Cheapest-looking price, heaviest buyer burden.

FOB (Free On Board): the supplier delivers the goods on board the vessel at the named loading port, export-cleared. Cost and risk pass to the buyer once the goods are on board — from that point freight and insurance are the buyer's.

CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight): the supplier pays freight and insurance to the named destination port. The often-missed detail: risk still transfers at the loading port, when the goods are on board — CIF moves costs, not risk.

DAP (Delivered At Place): the supplier delivers to the named destination ready for unloading; the buyer handles import clearance and duties. The closest of the four to a door-to-door price.

Practical advice for your request

State the Incoterm and the named place in your request — "CIF Jeddah" or "FOB Izmir", not just a term. Offers against the same term and place are genuinely comparable; offers against different terms are different products. On MarbleMap, spelling this out in the request is what lets sealed offers be compared fairly side by side.