Shipping to Brazil from Vietnam

Ship to Brazil from Vietnam — honest customs timelines, RADAR import license, Receita Federal/ANVISA clearance, Santos sea freight for B2B importers.

Brazil is Vietnam’s largest trade partner in South America, and — worth saying plainly — the most demanding customs environment on our network. If you’re a sourcing agent or importer new to this lane, the products move fine; it’s the paperwork and the Brazilian side’s import registration that decide whether your shipment clears in days or sits for weeks.

There’s an odd symmetry to this trade: Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, Vietnam is the second-largest exporter. Brazilian buyers still import Vietnamese instant and soluble coffee, along with cashew, footwear, textiles, phone accessories, and electronics components — categories where Vietnam competes on price and speed rather than raw commodity volume. The Vietnamese community actually resident in Brazil is small, a few hundred people concentrated in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, tracing back to boat-people-era arrivals after 1989 diplomatic relations began. This is overwhelmingly a B2B trade lane, not a family-parcel one, and we’ve built this page accordingly: what Receita Federal actually requires, what RADAR licensing means for your buyer, and — the point of this page — a realistic account of Brazilian clearance timelines rather than a rosy one.

Shipping Services to Brazil

Express Air (5-8 Business Days)

Flights from Hanoi (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) into São Paulo–Guarulhos (GRU) or Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (GIG). There are no direct Vietnam-Brazil flights; expect a transit stop through Europe or the Middle East, which is the main reason this lane runs a day or two longer than comparable-distance routes.

Best for:

Commercial samples ahead of a bulk order decision
Time-critical B2B documents
Industrial components and spare parts

Standard Air (10-15 Business Days)

Best for:

Bulk commercial cargo where cost matters more than speed
Vietnamese specialty foods for distributors, with full ANVISA-compliant documentation prepared in advance

Sea Freight (35-50 Days, indicative)

From Vung Tau or Ho Chi Minh City to Santos (São Paulo’s port, the largest container port in Latin America) or Rio de Janeiro. This range reflects sailing schedules on the lane; confirm current transit at quote stage, as it varies more here than on shorter routes.

Best for:

Bulk B2B inventory for distributors and wholesalers
Heavier commercial cargo where sea freight’s cost advantage outweighs the longer transit
Established Vietnam-Brazil supply chains running regular container shipments

Receita Federal, RADAR, and Realistic Clearance Timelines

Regulators you’ll interact with

Agency	Role
Receita Federal (Brazilian Federal Revenue)	Customs authority, duty and tax collection, RADAR licensing
ANVISA	Health and sanitary surveillance — food, cosmetics, medical products
MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture)	Animal and plant quarantine, phytosanitary inspection

RADAR: the requirement that decides whether you can ship at all

Every commercial import into Brazil goes through Siscomex, the government’s foreign trade platform. Access to Siscomex requires an active RADAR license issued by Receita Federal, and RADAR can only be held by an entity with a Brazilian CNPJ (corporate tax registration). In practice: your Brazilian buyer must be a registered Brazilian company with an active RADAR license before we can clear commercial cargo on their behalf. A foreign shipper cannot self-clear, and there is no workaround.

RADAR comes in tiers based on import volume:

Limited: import value up to roughly R$280,000 or R$840,000 per six-month period, depending on sub-tier
Unlimited: for importers with financial capacity above that threshold

If your buyer is new to importing, confirm their RADAR status — or get the application moving — before you commit to a ship date. This is the number one reason first shipments on this lane stall.

Import taxes

Tax	Rate
II (Imposto de Importação — Import Tax)	0% - 35%, depending on HS code classification
ICMS (state-level VAT)	Roughly 17% - 20%, varies by state (São Paulo: 18%)

Combined, these taxes can be substantial depending on the product category — ask us for an HS-code-specific estimate before finalizing a purchase order, since the effective rate varies significantly by product line and we’d rather quote accurately than guess.

Clearance timelines — the honest version

Brazil rolled out an automated “Green Channel” under its 2025 import process reform, and a majority of shipments now clear it within roughly 48 hours for air freight. That’s the good case. Here’s the case we tell clients to actually plan for:

Shipments selected for manual review (documentary or physical inspection — the “Yellow” or “Red” channel) routinely take one to three weeks longer, especially for first-time importers, ANVISA-regulated categories, or any paperwork gap.
Sea freight containers face longer inspection windows than air shipments as a matter of course.
A customer who assumes the fastest-case timeline and gets the slower one is a customer who walks. We’d rather you budget for the realistic case up front.

Complete, accurate paperwork — HS codes, commercial invoice, RADAR-registered importer — is the single biggest lever you have over which case you get.

Setting up your first Brazil import? Email info@gatewayexpress.com.vn or call +84 938 373 343 before you commit to a ship date — we’ll help you check your buyer’s RADAR status.

Vietnam-Brazil Trade Context

Indicator	Detail
Trade relationship	Brazil is Vietnam’s largest trade partner in South America
Coffee trade	Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer; Vietnam is the world’s second-largest exporter — a complementary rather than competing dynamic on the B2B side
Vietnamese community	A few hundred people, concentrated in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, dating to post-1989 diplomatic ties
Common B2B categories	Instant/soluble coffee, cashew, footwear, textiles, phone accessories, electronics components

Sourcing agents on this lane often also run cargo through our Mexico and USA shipping services — see the full country coverage list if you ship elsewhere in the Americas too.

What You Can Ship — and What’s Banned

Allowed (with ANVISA/MAPA-compliant documentation)

Commercial goods:

Electronics components, phone accessories
Footwear, textiles, garments
Handicrafts

Processed foods:

Coffee (instant and soluble are common commercial categories)
Cashew nuts, dried snacks
Instant noodles, dried rice noodles
Dried seafood

Banned

Weapons, explosives, controlled substances
Fresh meat products (tightly restricted, near-prohibited in practice)
Fresh dairy products
Live animals or plants without MAPA permits

Restricted (permits or higher tax exposure)

Prescription medicines: require ANVISA registration; some are prohibited outright
Electronics: can attract higher effective duty depending on HS code — get a classification check before ordering
Alcohol and tobacco: subject to steep excise tax

How Shipping with Gateway Express Works

Step 1 — Get a quote

Reach us through:

Hotline: +84 938 373 343 (also +84 944 247 267)
Zalo / Viber / WhatsApp: message the same number
Email: info@gatewayexpress.com.vn
Online: Request a free quote or contact our team

For commercial cargo, we check your buyer’s RADAR status and CNPJ registration before booking — catching this early avoids a hold at the Brazilian end.

Step 2 — Pack and prepare paperwork

Commercial invoice with accurate HS codes and declared value in USD or BRL
Packing list with weights and dimensions
Buyer’s RADAR license tier and CNPJ for commercial shipments
ANVISA-compliant documentation for food and health-adjacent categories

Step 3 — Free door pickup

Free pickup in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi; scheduled pickup in Da Nang, Hai Phong, and 60+ provinces.

Step 4 — Transit and tracking

SMS tracking notification at pickup
Customs milestone updates, including channel selection (Green vs. manual review) once known
Proactive notice if Receita Federal requests additional documentation

Step 5 — Door delivery in Brazil

Express: 5-8 business days, plus clearance time
Standard: 10-15 business days, plus clearance time
Sea freight: 35-50 days indicative, plus clearance time

Where We Pick Up and Deliver

Pickup in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi — free door pickup
Da Nang, Hai Phong, and 60+ provinces — scheduled pickup

Delivery in Brazil

São Paulo — largest city, primary commercial and import hub
Rio de Janeiro — major port city
Brasília — federal capital
Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Curitiba, Porto Alegre — regional centers
Coverage across all 26 states and the Distrito Federal

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does shipping from Vietnam to Brazil actually take?

Honestly: Express is 5-8 days in transit, Standard 10-15 days, sea freight 35-50 days — but add clearance time on top. Shipments that clear Brazil’s automated Green Channel add roughly 48 hours. Shipments flagged for manual review can add one to three weeks. Budget for the slower case, especially on a first shipment.

What is RADAR and does my buyer need it?

RADAR is the license Receita Federal requires to access Siscomex, Brazil’s import platform. Any Brazilian company receiving commercial cargo needs an active RADAR license tied to a CNPJ — without it, we cannot clear the shipment. Confirm this before committing to a ship date.

What taxes will my shipment incur?

Two main components: II (Import Tax), ranging 0-35% by HS code, and ICMS, a state VAT of roughly 17-20% (São Paulo: 18%). The combined effective rate varies significantly by product — ask us for a category-specific estimate.

Why is Brazilian customs slower than other destinations we ship to?

Brazil runs a channel-selection system: most shipments now clear an automated Green Channel quickly, but any shipment selected for documentary or physical inspection takes materially longer. It’s not a Gateway Express delay — it’s how Receita Federal’s risk-based clearance system works. Complete paperwork is your best lever.

Can a Brazilian buyer import without a CNPJ or RADAR license?

No, not for commercial cargo. This is a hard requirement of the Siscomex system. Personal, non-commercial parcels follow different, lighter rules — talk to us about your specific shipment.

Santos or Rio de Janeiro — which port should I use?

Santos is Latin America’s largest container port and typically has more frequent sailings and stronger inland logistics toward São Paulo, Brazil’s main commercial hub. Rio de Janeiro can make sense if that’s your final delivery region. We’ll advise based on your buyer’s location.

Can I ship Vietnamese coffee to the world’s biggest coffee producer?

Yes — instant and soluble coffee is a genuine, established commercial category on this lane. It’s less about competing on raw beans and more about product formats Brazilian distributors want to source affordably.

What typically triggers a manual inspection delay?

Incomplete or inconsistent commercial invoice details, HS code mismatches, first-time importers without an import history, and ANVISA-regulated categories (food, cosmetics, health products) are the most common triggers. Accurate, complete paperwork submitted up front is the best mitigation.

Is there a Vietnamese community in Brazil for personal parcels?

A small one — a few hundred people, mostly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. We do ship personal parcels, but this lane is predominantly commercial. If you’re shipping something personal, let us know and we’ll route it accordingly.

Ready to ship to Brazil? Get an honest quote and RADAR-aware customs guidance from Gateway Express.

📞 Hotline: +84 938 373 343 📧 Email: info@gatewayexpress.com.vn 🏢 Office: 72/5 Giai Phong St., Tan Son Nhat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Your trusted partner for Vietnam-Brazil shipping.