A product description is not necessarily a shared specification. “Good quality” may mean different things to the buyer, the packing team and the person accepting a delivery. Before dispatch, those expectations need a form that each participant can use without reconstructing the sales conversation.
FAO’s Commodity Marketing chapter explains how grades and standards help buyers and sellers communicate quality and price information. Its historical examples are not current descriptions of Chinese markets. The lasting concept is the shared language; the specification framework below is ACA’s practical application rather than a copy of the chapter’s examples.
Separate the product from the inspection process
Describe what is being supplied, then describe how the agreed characteristics will be assessed. A quality term without an inspection basis may leave room for different interpretations even when both teams act in good faith.
Ask which sample, method or observation the receiving team will use. Keep the answer with the order reference. The people preparing the shipment should know how their work will be checked before the goods arrive at the other end.
Include the format in which goods arrive
Packing, identification and quantity are part of the handover. A shipment might contain the expected product but still be difficult to receive if the batch identifiers, package format or quantity basis are unclear.
Use the specification to connect those details rather than scattering them across separate messages. Make a distinction between a requirement that was agreed and a preference that someone would like to add later.
| Item to settle | Question to resolve before loading |
|---|---|
| Product identity | What exactly is covered by this order? |
| Quality expectation | Which agreed characteristics are assessed? |
| Inspection basis | How will the receiving decision be documented? |
| Packing and quantity | What format and units will be supplied? |
| Identification | Which order and batch references travel with it? |
| Differences | Who reviews an observed mismatch? |
Give the document a version
A revised specification should be connected to the orders it affects. Record its date or version and make sure the packing and receiving teams can identify the applicable copy. Keeping an old attachment in a message history is not the same as controlling which document is used.
Consider an illustrative packing change agreed shortly before a shipment. The change needs to reach the people loading the goods, not just the commercial contacts. Ask them to confirm the applicable version rather than assuming that a forwarded message has been read.
Plan for a difference without prejudging it
Specify how the receiving team records an observation and who reviews it. Include the shipment reference, relevant photographs or measurements and the agreed inspection basis. Avoid making the first description of a concern do the work of a final technical or commercial conclusion.
This article is an operational communication guide, not a contract template or a statement of legal rights. Product standards and any contractual provisions need review appropriate to the transaction and destination market.
Use recurring questions to improve the specification
After a shipment, ask which requirement produced repeated clarification. A recurring question may indicate an ambiguous phrase, a missing unit or a version-control problem. Improve that point instead of making the entire document longer by default.
A usable specification does not remove every disagreement. It gives the team a common starting point for establishing what was agreed and what was observed. Once the terms are clear, a price comparison becomes a comparison of actual offers rather than similar-looking numbers.
Source and further reading
- Agricultural and Food Marketing Management — Chapter 6: Commodity Marketing
FAO · Accessed 2026-10-13
ACA’s practical examples and working checklists are independent editorial analysis. The linked source provides the underlying reference; it does not endorse this article.
