- Your packed volume is under about 15 m³ — a living room, a bedroom and a dining set together.
- You can accept 26–32 days port to port, plus consolidation in Foshan and deconsolidation at Le Havre or Fos.
- Nothing in the order is a stone top, a glass panel or a single heavy slab.
- You understand that the destination charges are fixed per consignment, so the per-cubic-metre saving shrinks as the order gets smaller.
Destination guide · France
Shipping Furniture From China to France
Furniture shipped from Foshan reaches Le Havre or Fos-sur-Mer in 25–28 days port to port in a full container, or 26–32 days as an LCL consignment, on Cape of Good Hope routing. Seats and furniture under headings 9401 and 9403 carry 0% EU duty; mattresses under 9404 carry 3.7%. French import VAT is 20% on goods plus freight plus duty, recoverable by a VAT-registered business. Source Foshan, a sourcing agent based in Foshan, China, consolidates the order, inspects it, books the sailing and arranges the delivery leg that most freight quotes stop short of.
Page reviewed by the Source Foshan sourcing team in Foshan · freight and duty figures are dated and sourced at the foot of the page.
At a glance
Five numbers to carry into the first conversation.
25–28 daysShenzhen to Le Havre, port to port, full container
USD 4,095–5,00540 ft high-cube ocean freight to Le Havre, September 2026
0% dutyOn seats (9401) and furniture (9403); 3.7% on mattresses (9404)
20% VATOn goods plus freight plus duty; recoverable if you are VAT-registered
15 m³Where a 20 ft container starts to beat an LCL consignment
Before it sails
What leaves Foshan, whatever the destination.
The same three steps stand behind every container we send to France. These are our own warehouse photographs, not stock images.
01 · The one decision
A full container or an LCL consignment?
French orders divide cleanly. Below about 15 m³ the fixed costs of a container cannot be justified; above it, a box of your own is both cheaper per cubic metre and gentler on the goods.
- Your packed volume passes about 15 m³; a 20 ft loads 28–33 m³ of crated furniture in practice.
- You are furnishing a whole house or a set of apartments: 45–70 m³, which is a 40 ft high-cube.
- The order includes marble, sintered stone or solid-timber slabs that should be handled once, not twice.
- You are buying for a project with a date: a sealed container has one arrival, not a deconsolidation queue.
LCL territory
under 15 m³
One 20 ft container
30 m³ loaded
One 40 ft high-cube
68 m³ loaded
A three-seat sofa carton is 1.6–2.2 m³; four stacked dining chairs 0.6–0.9 m³; a knock-down wardrobe 0.5–0.8 m³. Send the list and we return the packed volume per line.
A 40 ft high-cube offers about 76 m³ and loads to 65–70 m³ in practice. Two hundred and fifty stackable sun loungers, to take a real example, sit at roughly 45–55 m³ — one 40 ft high-cube, not two 20 ft boxes.
02
What does it cost to ship furniture to France?
Every line that appears between the ex-works price and the furniture standing in the room. Ranges, not promises.
| Line | Indicative | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight, 20 ft | USD 2,615–3,196 | Shenzhen to Le Havre; Fos-sur-Mer is usually within the same band |
| Ocean freight, 40 ft HC | USD 4,095–5,005 | The same sailing; about twice the volume for well under twice the price |
| LCL ocean freight | USD 30–45 per m³ | Before destination charges, which is where LCL quotes mislead |
| LCL destination charges | EUR 350–800 per consignment | Terminal handling, deconsolidation and the customs entry — fixed, not per m³ |
| Export packing and consolidation | About USD 30 per m³ | Re-crating, bracing, labelling, packing list |
| Marine insurance | About 0.5% of insured value | On goods plus freight |
| Customs duty | 0% on 9401 and 9403 | 3.7% on mattresses under 9404; no anti-dumping duty on Chinese furniture |
| French import VAT | 20% | On goods plus freight plus duty; postponed accounting for VAT-registered importers |
| Delivery, unload and assembly | Quoted per address | Paris and the Côte d'Azur differ more by access than by distance |
Indicative landed cost, Foshan to a French address, September 2026. Ocean freight moves monthly — confirm at booking.
03
How long does it take, week by week?
From the deposit to the last crate leaving your drive. The sea leg is the part nobody can compress.
- Week 0Orders placed and consolidated
Pieces from each factory are collected at one Foshan warehouse, checked against the specification and re-crated for sea.
- Week 6–10Inspection and loading
Every item photographed against the spec; the balance falls due after you approve the report. Timber is treated to ISPM 15 before the container is sealed.
- Week 10–14At sea
25–28 days Shenzhen to Le Havre or Fos-sur-Mer on Cape of Good Hope routing. Tracking shared weekly.
- Week 14–15Customs clearance
Entry lodged with your broker, duty where it applies and 20% import VAT settled or postponed. EORI number required.
- Week 15–16Delivery and carry-in
Delivery booked to the address, crates opened, pieces carried in and assembled, packaging taken away the same day.
04
Duty, tax and clearance into France
France is generous on duty for furniture and unforgiving on VAT paperwork. The number that decides your cash position is not the duty rate, it is how you account for the 20%.
Seats under heading 9401 and furniture under 9403 carry 0% third-country duty into the EU. Mattresses under 9404 carry 3.7%. There is no EU anti-dumping duty on Chinese furniture, seating or mattresses. The classification decides it, so the codes belong on the quotation, not on the bill of lading.
French import VAT is 20% of the customs value plus freight plus any duty. A VAT-registered French business recovers it and, since 2022, can use postponed accounting so no cash moves at the border. A private buyer pays it and does not get it back — which is why it belongs in the budget from the first quotation.
You need an EORI number to import in your own name; your broker lodges the entry. We are not a customs broker, and we say so: we supply the codes, the packed volume per line and the documents early enough for your broker to check them before the container is booked.
Commercial invoice, packing list with packed volume per line, bill of lading, ISPM 15 treatment certificate and the inspection report. One packing list covering every supplier.
05
Clearance is not delivery. What happens at the door.
The delivery leg is where most French quotations stop and most French projects go wrong. It is scoped before the ship sails.
A Haussmann courtyard, a village lane or a beach-club service road decides the vehicle, not the kilometres from the port. We ask for photographs of the approach.
No lift and a narrow stairwell means a larger crew and a slower day, priced before the order is placed.
Crates are opened outside, pieces carried in, beds and tables assembled and positioned by room against the packing list.
Timber, cardboard and wrap leave with the crew the same day rather than filling the site.
FAQ
Shipping furniture to France, answered.
How long does furniture take from China to France?
Twenty-five to twenty-eight days port to port in a full container from Shenzhen to Le Havre or Fos-sur-Mer, and twenty-six to thirty-two days as an LCL consignment, on current Cape of Good Hope routing. Add two to four weeks of production and consolidation before the sailing and about two weeks for clearance and a delivery booking. Door to door, a typical order runs fourteen to sixteen weeks from deposit.
What import duty and VAT apply to furniture from China to France?
Seats under heading 9401 and furniture under 9403 carry 0% duty into the EU; mattresses under 9404 carry 3.7%. There is no anti-dumping duty on Chinese furniture. French import VAT is 20% on the customs value plus freight plus duty. A VAT-registered French business recovers it and can use postponed accounting so no cash changes hands at the border; a private buyer pays it and cannot reclaim it.
Should I ship LCL or a full container to France?
Below about 15 m³, LCL. Above it, a 20 ft container is usually cheaper per cubic metre and safer for stone and solid timber. The per-cubic-metre ocean rate on an LCL quote looks small, but terminal handling, deconsolidation and the customs entry are charged per consignment, not per cubic metre, so they dominate a small shipment.
Which French port should my container arrive at?
Le Havre for Paris, Normandy, Brittany and most of the north; Fos-sur-Mer or Marseille for Provence, the Côte d'Azur and the south. Choosing the port nearest the delivery address usually saves more in inland trucking than any difference in the ocean rate.
Do you handle customs clearance in France?
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. We are a sourcing agent in Foshan, not a customs broker or a carrier. We supply the HS codes, the packed volume per line and the documents early enough for your broker to check them before the container is booked, and the delivery leg is run with our logistics partners.
Send your list and your France address
Quantities, rooms or a rough list are enough. You get compared factory options, the packed volume, the container call and a landed estimate within one business day.
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No spam, no obligation. Replies come from the sourcing team in Foshan, usually within one business day.
Sources & further reading
Where these figures come from.
- Sino Shipping — Shipping from China to France — FCL and LCL rate ranges and port-to-port transit times to Le Havre, September 2026
- European Commission — EU Customs Tariff (TARIC) — Third-country duty rates for Chapter 94 headings
- Douane — TVA à l'importation et autoliquidation — French import VAT rate and postponed accounting for VAT-registered importers
Ocean freight is a spot market and moves monthly; duty and tax rules change without notice. Treat every figure here as a starting point and confirm it at booking with your broker.