Also called: Request for quotation
What an RFQ means
The RFQ is the buyer’s specification of the deal they want priced. It is not a contract, a letter of credit, or a purchase order. Those documents come later, if both sides agree.
In commodity trade the RFQ usually sits between a first contact and a formal offer. Traders and producers receive more inquiries than they can price carefully. The ones that get a serious answer are complete enough to quote without a follow-up call.
Why incomplete RFQs cannot be compared
Price is not a property of a product name. Urea, hot-rolled coil, or wheat only become quotable when grade, quantity, packing, load or discharge place, Incoterm and payment instrument are named. Two “CIF” numbers are not comparable if one is CIF Mersin and the other is CIF any Mediterranean port.
A weak RFQ also hides compliance questions: end-use, origin constraints, and which certificates the destination will actually check.
What it covers
A quotable commodity RFQ typically names:
- Product and grade against a recognisable standard or datasheet
- Quantity with a unit (MT, kg, bags, containers)
- Packing
- Destination country and, where known, port or place
- Incoterm with a named place, and which Incoterms edition if it matters
- Preferred payment instrument (for example LC at sight or TT)
- Delivery window
- Inspection and document requirements if they are conditions of the purchase
- End-use where it affects licences, certificates or sanctions screening
What it does not cover
An RFQ does not create an obligation to buy or sell. It does not replace KYC. It does not fix title, insurance beyond what the named Incoterm requires, or the document set unless those points are written in.
Who issues it
The buyer, or a party authorised to inquire on the buyer’s behalf. A supplier partnership inquiry is a different document: it describes capacity and grades, not a parcel the buyer wants priced.
Common mistakes
Writing “best price CIF any port”. Naming a product without a grade. Mixing FOB and CIF offers as if they were the same number. Asking for a full banking file on first contact. Treating an LOI or ICPO as a substitute for specification.
Practical example
Weak: “Urea, best price, CIF any port.”
Quotable: “Urea prilled, agricultural grade, 5,000 MT, bulk, CIF Mersin, LC at sight, shipment 30-45 days after contract, producer COA required.”
TTC uses these terms in its RFQ and transaction process. Nothing on this page is a licence, a certification, a guarantee of clearance, or a substitute for the documents and clauses of a specific contract.