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In October 2026, trade finance moved fast. The International Finance Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation launched a $500 million supply chain finance facility for emerging-market SMEs, days after Mizuho Bank and the IFC put $1 billion behind a risk-sharing facility covering payables, receivables and pre-shipment finance across Asia-Pacific. In the UAE, logistics group 7X went a step further with ADEED Finance, a digital platform connecting SMEs directly to banks including First Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates NBD for trade finance, letters of credit and receivables funding.

The message behind these moves is worth every fresh produce importer's attention: the financing conversation is no longer only about which bank will open your letter of credit. It is about who carries the liquidity at each stage of the trade — and that question applies to garlic shipments just as much as to manufactured goods.

Why Supply Chain Finance Matters for Perishables

Traditional trade finance was built around the documentary credit: a bank promises payment against documents, and the supplier ships with confidence. That model works, but it solves only one side of the problem. The importer still has to fund the goods, the freight, the duties and the storage before revenue comes in — and with perishables, the clock never stops.

Supply chain finance flips the perspective. Instead of judging a small importer purely on its own balance sheet, approved-payables structures let lenders look at the payment obligation of the anchor buyer or the quality of the receivable. The IFC-SMBC facility, for example, uses the financial strength of a large Latin American food manufacturer to support early payment of that buyer's suppliers. Applied to produce imports, the same logic can unlock working capital for distributors who would otherwise be priced out of unsecured borrowing.

For importers of garlic, ginger and other fresh commodities, this matters because margins are thin and timing is everything. A shipment that arrives two weeks late or sits unsold in storage for an extra month can wipe out the profit on the whole container. Financing that flexes with your sales cycle — rather than against a fixed repayment date — changes what deals are worth taking.

Matching the Instrument to the Cash Flow

None of this replaces the classic toolkit. It adds options, and the skill lies in matching the instrument to the actual cash flow of the trade:

• Sight LC — best for first-time trades or volatile markets, where the exporter needs certainty and the importer has liquidity ready on presentation.

• Deferred LC or D/A (documents against acceptance) — useful when the importer needs to sell part of the consignment before paying. For produce, align the tenor with your realistic sell-through window, not an optimistic one.

• D/P (documents against payment) — a middle ground that keeps the bank in control of the documents without the full cost of an LC.

• Open account (30–120 days) — the importer's cheapest option, but only workable when the exporter has credit protection. This is where export credit insurance such as Sinosure plays its part: the supplier can extend terms because the risk is covered, and the importer gets to preserve cash.

Supply chain finance and open account terms are complementary. The importer who negotiates 60-day OA terms can often factor the receivable-side financing on the supplier's behalf, or use a payables facility to settle early at a discount. The trade becomes cheaper for both sides, which is exactly what the new IFC-backed facilities are designed to encourage.

One Warning: Read the Fine Print Even More Carefully

Easier access to finance does not mean lower standards elsewhere. October also brought a court ruling upholding conditional LC clauses where payment depended on the issuing bank first receiving funds from its applicant. If financing structures multiply, so does paperwork — and so do the opportunities for unfavorable wording to slip into documents signed under time pressure. Whatever instrument you use, review the operative terms: payment conditions, presentation deadlines, expiry dates and any clause that makes payment depend on events outside the documents themselves.

How This Plays Out in a Garlic Trade

Consider a GCC importer buying pure white garlic 5.0–5.5cm for the winter season. Rather than tying up capital in a sight LC for every shipment, the importer negotiates D/A terms over a season, backed by the exporter's credit insurance. Cash stays available for freight, customs and cold storage. When a spot opportunity arises — say, a short-lead container available from a supplier's overseas warehouse — the importer can move quickly because its working capital is not frozen in pending LC fees and margin deposits.

This is the model Zileeland has built its payment solutions around. As a garlic and ginger exporter based in Jinxiang, Shandong, Zileeland offers sight LC, deferred LC, standby LC, D/P, D/A and open account terms from 30 to 120 days, with Sinosure-backed support where applicable, so the payment structure fits the importer's cash flow instead of dictating it. For buyers who want certainty before committing capital, Zileeland also operates a refundable deposit model through its Dubai cold storage facility at Ras Al Khor Central Fruit & Vegetable Market: the importer pays a deposit, inspects the goods on site, and completes the deal only once quality is confirmed. A complimentary storage period gives buyers additional time to organize collection or onward distribution without paying for every day the goods sit in the warehouse.

In a year when $1.5 billion of new supply chain finance capacity and platforms like ADEED are making capital easier to reach, the importers who win will be those who combine accessible financing with flexible counterparties. The payment structure is no longer just a formality at the bottom of the contract — it is a competitive tool.

Contact Zileeland:

China Office: WhatsApp +86 135 3884 6949 | Email: business@zileeland.com

Joseph (Dubai Warehouse): +971 56 659 3694 Website: www.zileeland.com