Between the finishing line and your warehouse, a rug spends weeks being lifted, stacked, shipped and trucked by people who will never see what is inside the package. Export packing is the craft that makes that journey uneventful — and it is worth knowing what good looks like, because packing failures become your problem at the exact moment the supplier's responsibility has ended.
The Standard Method: The Bale
Rugs are rolled tightly around the pile (never folded — creases in a latexed rug can be permanent), usually several to a roll by size, then wrapped in layers: an inner moisture barrier of polythene, and an outer skin of woven polypropylene or hessian, machine-stitched shut and strapped. The result is a dense, water-resistant cylinder that shrugs off forklift handling and monsoon-season humidity alike.
Cartons and Special Cases
Small pieces, scatter sizes and e-commerce-ready goods often ship in cartons — sometimes rolled around a core, individually polybagged, with your retail labels applied at the factory so stock arrives shelf-ready. High-value hand-knotted pieces may be rolled individually on tubes. Outdoor and flatweave goods compress the most, which quietly cuts your freight per piece.
What the Paperwork Must Match
Every bale carries markings — consignee, order reference, bale number, dimensions, weight — that must reconcile exactly with the packing list, because customs and insurers reconcile them too. Ask your supplier for bale dimensions at quotation stage; your forwarder prices from them.
What to Ask For
Moisture barrier as standard, pile-in rolling, numbered bales, and photos of your packed order before dispatch. All four are our default in Bhadohi. Request our packing specification with your first quotation.