Guides / Cost

Reading a Plywood Quote: FOB, CIF and DDP

September 21, 2026

Two mills quote the same panel and the numbers are far apart. Before you conclude anything about the price, check which Incoterm each quote was written on. Half the gap is usually there.

What each term covers

Term	Seller pays to	You pay
EXW	Nothing. Goods at the factory gate	Everything, including loading and export clearance
FOB port	Packing, inland transport, export clearance, loading on board	Ocean freight, insurance, destination charges, duty, delivery
CFR / CNF	FOB plus ocean freight	Insurance, destination charges, duty, delivery
CIF	FOB plus ocean freight and insurance	Destination charges, duty, delivery
DAP	Delivery to your address, unloaded at your risk	Import duty and clearance, normally
DDP	Everything to your door including duty	Very little, and you see none of the breakdown

Vietnamese plywood is quoted FOB Hai Phong or FOB Ho Chi Minh City by default. Those two are not interchangeable: they are different ports with different sailing schedules and different inland costs from the mill.

Where risk changes hands

Incoterms allocate cost and risk, and the two do not always change at the same point. On FOB, risk passes when the goods are loaded on board. If the container is damaged on the water, that is your loss, even though the seller arranged the stow.

This is why insurance is worth thinking about separately from who pays freight. On FOB you are uninsured unless you buy cover. On CIF the seller buys minimum cover, which is often less than you assume.

Comparing quotes properly

Put every quote on the same basis before you look at the numbers:

1. Convert everything to landed cost per sheet or per cubic metre
2. Add ocean freight, destination charges, customs clearance, duty and inland delivery to any FOB number
3. Check the container plan, because a quote that fits fewer sheets in the box costs more per sheet delivered even at the same unit price. See how many plywood sheets fit in a container
4. Check the payment terms, because ninety days of credit is worth real money. See payment terms for a plywood order

Only then compare, and compare against the same specification, because the bond and the core move the price more than the Incoterm does. That breakdown is in what drives the price of Vietnam plywood.

When DDP is a trap

DDP looks simple and hides everything. The seller quotes one number, and inside it sits freight, duty, clearance and a margin you cannot see. Two problems follow:

• You cannot tell whether the duty was calculated correctly, and the liability for an incorrect declaration can still reach you
• When freight rates fall, your price does not, because there is nothing to renegotiate against

Use it when you genuinely have no import capability, and treat the price as a package rather than as a plywood price.

The line to write in the enquiry

“Quote FOB Hai Phong and, separately, your CIF figure to our port, with the container plan and the payment terms.”

Two numbers and a plan. That is enough to compare mills honestly, and it takes the guesswork out of the cheapest looking quote.

For where the quote term sits in the whole purchase, read our guide to import plywood from Vietnam.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• What Drives the Price of Vietnam Plywood
• Payment Terms on a Vietnam Plywood Order