Buyer’s reference

Wholesale & export trade glossary

The terms trade buyers meet when ordering tobacco, shisha and vape wholesale from Dubai — in plain English, with how each one applies at Fakhama.

18+ · Trade buyers only

Ordering & commercial

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity): The smallest order a supplier will accept. At Fakhama the MOQ is 25 master cases, which you can mix freely across SKUs and brands to test a market before committing to full lines.
Master case: The standard wholesale shipping unit. For most cigarette lines a master case is 500 packs (50 cartons of 10 packs); cigarillos and specialty lines vary — the line sheet lists packing per case for every SKU.
Carton: A sleeve of retail packs — usually 10 packs of 20 cigarettes. Multiple cartons make up a master case.
Price on request (POR): Pricing quoted per order rather than published, based on volume, format mix and destination. Standard practice in B2B tobacco; request the current line sheet for figures.
Line sheet: The trade document listing available brands, SKUs, packing and current pricing, shared privately with qualified trade buyers.
Private label: Producing a product under the buyer’s own brand or a market-specific variant. Available at Fakhama, with its own minimum-order terms.

Incoterms: Internationally recognised rules that define who arranges and pays for freight, insurance and customs clearance at each stage of a shipment, and where risk passes from seller to buyer.
EXW (Ex Works): The buyer collects the goods from Fakhama’s premises in Dubai and handles all onward transport, export clearance and freight. Lowest seller involvement.
FOB Jebel Ali (Free On Board): Fakhama delivers the goods, cleared for export, onto the vessel at Jebel Ali port. Risk and freight costs pass to the buyer once the goods are on board.
CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight): Fakhama arranges and pays for sea freight and insurance to the buyer’s named destination port. Available to most ports on request.
Jebel Ali: Dubai’s deep-water port and free zone — one of the largest in the world and Fakhama’s primary export gateway for sea freight.
Export documentation: The paperwork that lets a shipment clear customs internationally — commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and any destination-specific certificates. Provided in full with every order.
Consolidated shipment: Combining several brands and SKUs into a single dispatch under one set of documents — usually the most cost-effective way to land a mixed order.

T/T (Telegraphic Transfer): A bank wire transfer. Fakhama accepts T/T in advance of dispatch.
L/C at sight (Letter of Credit): A bank-guaranteed payment released to the seller on presentation of compliant shipping documents. Available for established buyers.

King Size (KS): The standard full-length cigarette format, around 83–84 mm.
Super Slim: A longer, narrow-diameter cigarette format, around 100 mm — popular in travel-retail and premium ranges.
Nano / Compact: Shorter, compact pack and cigarette formats designed for convenience and lower price points.
Capsule (crush): A flavour capsule built into the filter; crushing it releases a flavour such as menthol, mint or berry mid-smoke. “Double capsule” packs carry two.
Kretek: A cigarette blended with clove, giving a distinctive sweet, spiced character. Popular across South-East Asian markets.
Shisha (molasses tobacco): Flavoured tobacco moistened with molasses or glycerin and smoked through a hookah / waterpipe.
Nicotine pouch: A tobacco-free oral nicotine product placed under the lip — a fast-growing “new generation” category (e.g. Velo).

Send your brands, volumes and destination — we answer trade enquiries the same day.