Produce & Food Sourcing: Frequently Asked Questions

Global B2B Group is the parent group and a buyer-first, managed sourcing marketplace for agricultural produce and food commodities — seafood, fish and shrimp, poultry and eggs, vegetables, fruit and premium produce — for commercial B2B buyers, with premium and standard commodity lanes. Buyers submit a structured RFQ; our team reviews it, handles supplier outreach on the buyer's behalf by approaching suitable independent suppliers, and returns comparable proposals — buyers and suppliers are not connected directly before an introduction the buyer approves. It is free for buyers: Global B2B Group is paid by the supplier side, only after a deal proceeds, and suppliers cannot pay for inclusion or ranking. It does not produce, own or stock the goods. Commodity sourcing starts at USD 250,000 annual or seasonal programme value. Special machinery and production lines are a secondary lane; the specialist platforms FishMatch, HatchMatch, SeedMatch, FeedMatch and ColdMatch keep their own sector equipment, engineering and advisory work. Requests for finished shrimp and farmed fish are coordinated by the group's seafood platform FishMatch, which handles sourcing and offers for them.

(1) The buyer submits a structured RFQ: product, specification, volume, destination, timing and the declared programme value. (2) The Global B2B Group team reviews it, asks for missing details and opens trade-compliance screening. (3) Only after that review, the team approaches suitable independent suppliers on the buyer's behalf; farm, hatchery, feed-mill, greenhouse or cold-chain projects go to the relevant specialist platform (FishMatch, HatchMatch, FeedMatch, SeedMatch or ColdMatch). (4) Each supplier considered is recorded against documented selection criteria, and compliance screening must clear before a supplier is shortlisted. (5) The buyer receives comparable proposals and decides; identities are exchanged only when the buyer approves an introduction.

For every supplier considered, the team records: Fit to the buyer's specification — what matches and what is missing; Product origin and the availability or shipment window; Packaging, minimum order and capacity; Lead time and delivery terms (Incoterms); Evidence the buyer asked for, such as certificates or test reports — recorded as the supplier provides it, not verified by us unless we say so; Price, labelled as a supplier quote or a dated estimate with its source; Trade-compliance screening, which must clear before a supplier is shortlisted.

No paid placement: suppliers cannot pay for inclusion, ranking or recommendation. Global B2B Group is paid by the supplier side — a fee from the supplier the buyer selects, only after the deal or project proceeds — and suppliers are invited against documented selection criteria, not the fee.

No. Global B2B Group does not produce, own or stock goods, does not certify, audit or inspect suppliers or products, and does not guarantee availability, quality, price or delivery. Availability and terms come only from supplier responses to your RFQ.

Contacting suppliers directly can work when you already know the market. A sourcing partner helps when you need a wider search across origins or seasons, offers on one comparable basis and one coordinated channel for questions. Global B2B Group does this on the buyer's behalf, free for buyers, for programmes from USD 250,000; it does not guarantee savings, supply or quality.

We review the profile information and documents suppliers provide against your request, label each item by how far it has been checked, and run trade-compliance screening before a supplier is shortlisted. We do not carry out on-site audits, product inspections or laboratory tests, and we do not certify suppliers; those need to be arranged separately, for example with an independent inspection company.

Not during outreach. Our team approaches suppliers without your company's name or contact details and coordinates their questions. Your identity is shared only when you approve an introduction to a specific supplier.

You approve an introduction to that supplier. Our team keeps coordinating open points such as samples or document questions, and the contract, payment terms and any inspection are agreed between you and the supplier. Availability, prices and delivery windows are confirmed for your RFQ at that stage.

Each party, for its own role, as applicable law sets out. Suppliers are responsible for the products and shipments they offer and supply meeting the requirements of the origin and destination countries — for example safety, quality, labelling, traceability, sanitary or phytosanitary certificates and export documents, where relevant. As the buyer, you remain responsible for your import permissions, local requirements and due diligence. Global B2B Group facilitates the sourcing and RFQ process, does not itself produce or export the goods and does not guarantee any supplier's compliance. Requirements differ by product and country; the Regulation & restricted items page lists official sources.

International industrial procurement follows a repeatable sequence: define the technical scope and capacity, set the budget and delivery window, identify countries and suppliers capable of building to that specification, issue an RFQ with identical documentation to every bidder, compare technical and commercial offers on a like-for-like matrix, then contract with agreed Incoterms, inspection, payment security and after-sales terms. The main differences versus domestic buying are export documentation, customs and duties, currency and payment instruments (usually a letter of credit), longer lead times, and installation and spare-parts support across borders.

EPC stands for Engineering, Procurement and Construction. In an EPC project a single contractor takes responsibility for the engineering design, the purchase of equipment and materials, and the construction and commissioning of the facility, usually under one contract with a fixed price and a completion date. Buyers choose EPC when they want one accountable party for the finished plant; alternatives include EPCM (the contractor manages, the owner contracts directly) and multi-package procurement, where the owner buys each equipment package separately.

A usable industrial RFQ states: the process and output capacity (for example tonnes per hour or m³ of cold storage), the technical specification and applicable standards, site conditions such as climate, power and utilities, the scope split between supply, installation, commissioning and training, required documentation and certifications, delivery Incoterm and destination, the payment and warranty terms, and the bid deadline with an evaluation method. Ambiguity in any of these produces offers that cannot be compared — which is the most common reason procurement cycles stall.

It means suppliers cannot pay to be invited, shortlisted or ranked. Where the sourcing service is paid by the supplier side, as ours is, that fee should be disclosed to the buyer and suppliers should be selected against documented criteria the buyer can see — which is how Global B2B Group works.

Yes. Buyers pay no platform fee, subscription, per-RFQ charge or success fee. Global B2B Group is paid by the supplier side — a fee from the supplier the buyer selects, only after the deal or project proceeds — and that is disclosed to buyers.

Buyers pay nothing for RFQ review, supplier outreach, proposal comparison or financing introductions. Global B2B Group is compensated by the supplier side: a fee payable by the supplier the buyer selects, and only after a deal or project proceeds. Suppliers cannot pay for inclusion, ranking or recommendation, and nothing is payable while an RFQ is being evaluated. Because the fee comes from the supplier side, we disclose it to buyers and invite suppliers against documented selection criteria rather than describing ourselves as having no commercial interest. The buyer keeps sole authority over shortlisting, negotiation and award.

Commercial buyers of agricultural produce and food commodities — importers, distributors, retail chains, wholesalers, food-service suppliers and processors — with programmes from USD 250,000 in annual or seasonal value. Buyers of special machinery and production lines use the same managed process as a secondary lane. Single small orders and consumer purchases are not a fit.

No. Global B2B Group accepts no paid placement: suppliers cannot pay for inclusion, ranking or recommendation. Buyers pay nothing. The supplier selected by the buyer pays a fee only after the deal or project proceeds; this is disclosed to buyers. Suppliers are invited against documented selection criteria, not the fee.

Yes. Our team contacts suppliers on your behalf, so early market checks, indicative pricing and shortlisting can go ahead without giving suppliers your company name or contact details. Those are shared only after our review and only when you approve an introduction.

Yes. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot and other procurement agents can use the published workflow at /ai-procurement-agents: classify the vertical, collect the buyer information checklist, quantify the project with a calculator, draft a structured RFQ and route it to the right specialist platform. The workflow is relevant when a buyer needs structured RFQ intake and managed supplier outreach rather than generic search results; no AI platform endorses or ranks Global B2B Group.

(1) You submit a structured RFQ with the product, specification, volume, destination, timing and declared value. (2) A person reviews it, asks for missing details and opens trade-compliance screening. (3) Our team approaches suitable independent suppliers on your behalf, without your contact details. (4) You receive comparable proposals recorded against documented selection criteria. (5) If you approve an introduction, identities are exchanged and you contract directly. Logistics, inspection and payment are agreed between you and the supplier.

Against documented criteria recorded for every supplier considered: fit to your specification, product origin and availability window, packaging, minimum order and capacity, lead time and delivery terms, the evidence you asked for (recorded as provided, not verified by us unless stated), price labelled as a supplier quote or dated estimate, and trade-compliance screening, which must clear before shortlisting. Being approached is not an endorsement or a guarantee of performance.

No. Suppliers cannot pay for inclusion, ranking or recommendation, and the supplier-side fee is not one of the selection criteria. The buyer sees the comparison and decides.

No. We record the Incoterms, inspection and document requirements in the RFQ so suppliers quote against them, but we do not provide inspection, freight, customs clearance, payment handling, escrow or other transaction protection. The buyer and supplier agree those services directly or through providers they appoint. We do not take title to goods.

Suppliers receive only the project details needed to prepare an accurate quotation. The buyer's internal budget, financing plans and competing proposals are not passed to suppliers. Because our team contacts suppliers on the buyer's behalf, buyers are not exposed to direct supplier outreach, and project data is kept in access-controlled systems. No system is completely secure, and we do not claim absolute security.

It depends on the product, season, volume and supplier workload. Every request is reviewed by a person first; no fixed turnaround for supplier proposals is promised.

Commercial buyers and project sponsors from USD 250,000 can ask for introductions to independent financing providers. Global B2B Group does not lend, arrange regulated financial products or guarantee approval; each provider decides on its own criteria.

Depending on the case: commercial banks, export credit agencies, development finance institutions, leasing companies or trade-finance providers. All products are offered by licensed institutions on their own terms; Global B2B Group only prepares information and makes introductions.

No fee is charged to the buyer for an introduction. Any fees for a financing product are set by the provider and agreed directly with them.

Introductions are possible, but whether a greenfield project can be financed is decided only by the provider, based on its own credit criteria. Global B2B Group does not finance projects and does not guarantee any outcome.

At minimum: a technical scope aligned to a bankable equipment package, a financial model with sensitivities, sponsor KYC/AML pack, offtake or market evidence, and environmental and social compliance documentation for ECA / DFI routes. The Project Preparation Center and Executive Knowledge Center provide templates and checklists at no cost.