Shipping items to the big island just got a lot easier with the establishment of a new door-to-door freight service to Savai'i from overseas. 

International freight firm, Custom Logistic Services, which launched its local Samoan arm last April, this month began offering a service offering shipment from Australia and New Zealand direct to Savai'i residents.

Manager Alo Leota says that the company will offer a fixed cost for transporting items from New Zealand to be paid by senders in Auckland.

“Our personal effect services in New Zealand is quite on a wide scale as you can send personal effects [via] both air freight and sea,” he says.

The company's service extends to importing containers and vehicles, Alo says, and it offers a loose cargo rate for shipment of up to six pieces of freight. 

“We’ve got boxes where the shipper does a one payment for the cost of a full service of drop-off and pick-up,” he says. 

The only cost to be covered by Savai'i recipients will be customs duties; they are exempt from local handling fees charged to Apia recipients, Alo said.

“Savaii has [the] advantage [in] this [respect],” Alo says.

The establishment of the NZ-Savai'i connection, Alo says, was motivated by a desire to offer a service that local, small-scale exporters can take advantage of. 

“We don’t want to help people who are already up and running or already [need] a [...full] container,” he said. 

As most shipping line would do a port to port box, our company offers a service of cost that goes all the way to the receiver’s front door,” he says.

“We want to help in terms of the export [companies] that is our main focus right now,” he said.