How much is sea freight from China to Ghana?

It is priced per cubic metre of cargo, so it depends on the size of your cartons, not their weight. On Atrady Business the sea fee is shown per unit and per carton on every product before you pay.

How much is air freight from China to Ghana per kg?

Air is priced per kilogram (or volumetric kilogram for bulky items) and falls as the shipment gets heavier. Per unit it is usually several times the sea fee for heavy or bulky goods and a small share of the price for light ones. Atrady Business shows the air fee per unit on each product.

Which is safer, sea or air?

Both are insured and tracked. Air has fewer handling steps and arrives sooner; sea has more time in transit but cartons are palletised and containerised. Fragile goods are packed the same way for both.

Can I split one order between sea and air?

Each product in your order picks its own method, so yes - a few pieces of something by air and the carton of it by sea is a normal order.

Sea vs air freight from China to Ghana: what each costs and when to use which

5 min readUpdated 19 September 2026

Sea is the cheapest way to ship from China to Ghana and takes about 2 months; it is priced by the space your goods take in the container (cubic metres), so it suits anything heavy or bulky. Air takes about 2 weeks and is priced by weight, so heavy or bulky items can cost several times more than by sea - worth it for light, urgent or high-value goods. On Atrady Business every order lets you choose, and the fee is shown per unit and per carton before you pay.

How sea freight is priced

Sea freight is charged on volume. Forwarders quote per cubic metre (CBM) for shared-container (groupage / LCL) cargo, or a flat rate for a whole 20ft or 40ft container. Weight barely matters until the cargo is very dense. A carton's sea fee is therefore its length × width × height, so ten light cartons of pillows cost more to ship than ten heavy cartons of plates of the same size.

On Atrady Business a product's sea fee is worked out from its carton's measurements and shown per unit for small quantities and per carton for whole cartons.

How air freight is priced

Air freight is charged per kilogram, on whichever is greater: the actual weight or the volumetric weight (a formula that turns bulky-but-light cargo into a chargeable weight). Rates fall as the shipment gets heavier, but per unit air is almost always several times the sea price.

On Atrady Business the air fee is shown per unit; for a whole carton by air it is worked out from the carton's weight - where a weight hasn't been recorded yet, the fee is set once the shipment is priced and you pay it from your orders page.

Timelines

Sea: about 2 months door to door - production, four to six weeks at sea to Tema, then clearing and delivery.
Air: about 2 weeks door to door - production, a few days in the air to Kotoka, clearing and delivery.
Both timelines start when the goods leave the factory, so production time (a few days for stock items, weeks for made-to-order) sits in front of either.

When to choose which

Sea: stock you can plan two months ahead, anything heavy (cookware, tools, tiles) or bulky (furniture, bedding, toys in big boxes), and any full-carton order where the per-unit saving matters more than speed.
Air: light and small goods (phone accessories, jewellery, watches, cosmetics), samples you want in hand this month, seasonal stock you've left late, and high-value items where two weeks of tied-up money costs more than the freight difference.
Both: many traders ship a few pieces by air to start selling and photograph, and the carton by sea to restock.

The honest rule of thumb

If the product is heavy or bulky, air will hurt - assume several times the sea fee per unit and check the figure on the product before choosing. If it is light and you need it soon, air is often only a small share of the unit price and the two months saved are worth more than the difference.

Ready when you are

Every product on Atrady Business shows its price for a few pieces, for 10 or more and for a carton - and the sea and air fee - before you pay.

See sea and air fees on any product

Questions people ask

How much is sea freight from China to Ghana?: It is priced per cubic metre of cargo, so it depends on the size of your cartons, not their weight. On Atrady Business the sea fee is shown per unit and per carton on every product before you pay.
How much is air freight from China to Ghana per kg?: Air is priced per kilogram (or volumetric kilogram for bulky items) and falls as the shipment gets heavier. Per unit it is usually several times the sea fee for heavy or bulky goods and a small share of the price for light ones. Atrady Business shows the air fee per unit on each product.
Which is safer, sea or air?: Both are insured and tracked. Air has fewer handling steps and arrives sooner; sea has more time in transit but cartons are palletised and containerised. Fragile goods are packed the same way for both.
Can I split one order between sea and air?: Each product in your order picks its own method, so yes - a few pieces of something by air and the carton of it by sea is a normal order.