Of all the technical choices in opening an Egypt–NL corridor, the Incoterm decision gets the least attention and the highest premium for getting wrong. Here is a working merchant's view — not a textbook.
The three Incoterms that matter for Egypt ↔ NL
There are eleven Incoterms in total. In practice, Dutch–Egyptian sea-freight trade settles into three: FOB Alexandria, CIF Rotterdam, and DAP at the buyer's warehouse. Choosing between them is a risk-and-control decision, not a price decision — though most buyers treat it as the latter.
FOB Alexandria
The Egyptian supplier delivers the goods on board the vessel at Alexandria. From that moment the buyer owns the freight, the insurance, and the customs handling at the destination. Most experienced Dutch importers prefer FOB because they have the freight relationships in Rotterdam and can usually negotiate sea freight cheaper than the supplier would. New importers often regret it because they underestimate what "on board" actually means in operational terms — and what happens if the loading slot slips.
CIF Rotterdam
The supplier handles freight and insurance to Rotterdam port. The buyer takes over at the port. Simpler for the buyer; usually carries a freight margin baked into the supplier price. Worth it for a first corridor; less attractive once you have your own freight relationships.
DAP buyer's warehouse
The supplier handles everything to the buyer's door — including customs clearance, import duty, and inland transport. Looks attractive on a comparison spreadsheet. In practice, it requires the supplier (or their forwarder) to handle EU customs as a non-EU entity, which adds cost and complexity that ends up in the price. Almost always the wrong choice for a serious Dutch buyer.
The hidden cost: who handles the documentation
Every Incoterm carries a documentation responsibility. Under FOB, the buyer arranges everything from the bill of lading onward; the supplier provides commercial invoice, packing list, and certificate of origin. Under CIF, the supplier extends to the BL and insurance certificate. Under DAP, the supplier owns the entire paperwork chain to the buyer's door — including European-side compliance documentation it often does not understand.
The mistake we see most often: buyers chose FOB because it looked cheapest, then assumed the supplier would handle all the origin-side paperwork. Half the supplier shrugs. The bill of lading hits Rotterdam without the EUR.1 form because nobody explicitly owned that step.
What we usually recommend
For first-time Dutch buyers from Egypt: CIF Rotterdam, explicitly with EUR.1 origin certificate prepared by the supplier and verified by us before vessel departure. Pay the small freight premium. Avoid the larger clearance-disaster premium.
For Dutch buyers on their third or fourth shipment from the same supplier: FOB Alexandria, with the buyer arranging freight through their Rotterdam forwarder and the supplier providing the full origin-side paperwork stack on a checklist we agreed at the start of the relationship.