Importing Paper Cups into Saudi Arabia: SABER, SASO & Logistics
5 April 2025
A step-by-step guide to importing disposable paper cups into Saudi Arabia — SABER conformity, SASO standards, ports, transit times and landed cost.
Saudi Arabia is the largest paper cup market in the Gulf, but importing food-contact products into the Kingdom means getting the conformity paperwork right. Here is the practical version.
1. Why Saudi Arabia
A specialty-coffee boom across Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province, plus year-round karak and Arabic coffee culture, keep demand for disposable cups extremely high. Distributors who can supply consistent quality and documentation win repeat business fast.
2. Conformity: SASO & SABER
Disposable cups are regulated as food-contact articles. Clearance runs through the **SABER** platform:
SASO-recognised SGS or Intertek reports make this smoother.
3. Ports & transit
| Route | Port | Transit ||-------|------|---------|
| Turkey → Jeddah | Jeddah Islamic Port (Red Sea) | ~10–14 days || Turkey → Dammam | King Abdulaziz Port (Gulf) | ~14–18 days || Turkey → Riyadh | via Jeddah + Riyadh Dry Port | ~12–17 days |4. Documents you'll need
Commercial invoice, packing list, Turkish certificate of origin, the SABER PCoC/SCoC, and food-grade certification. VAT in the Kingdom is 15%; budget for it in your landed cost.
5. A sensible first order
Order a mixed pallet across 7oz, 8oz, 12oz and 16oz to test what sells, then scale to a full container to bring the per-cup cost down. Custom print starts from 1,000 pcs per size.
**Bottom line:** the paperwork is routine when your supplier prepares the technical file for you. That is exactly what we do for every Saudi shipment.