As soon as order is confirmed and letter of credit is received, the exporter approaches the bank to receive pre-shipment finance which he needs to buy raw materials and other inputs to produce good to be exported. Firms require finance for various activities such as purchase of raw material and manufacture of goods. In the case of exporters, this finance is obtained from banks in the form of advances known as pre-shipment finance. These advances are called pre-shipment finance as they are used in operations completed before the final shipment of goods takes place. This type of credit is obtained by an exporter from his or her banker after the order has been confirmed and the letter of credit has been received from the importer. Once the bank extends credit, the exporter uses the funds to purchase raw materials to undertake production. Preshipment finance is also used for processing and packaging goods and transporting them to ports for shipment.
