WhatsApp Business API for Indian exporters shipping into Genoa
Genoa's port system moved about 3 million TEU of containers in 2025. For an Indian exporter shipping there, each box is a run of updates a buyer in Liguria would rather read on WhatsApp than chase by phone.
For India-based exporters, forwarders and travel firms with buyers or guests in Genoa: the updates an importer waits for as a container climbs from booking to delivery, Italy's consent rule for offers, when to send on Genoa's clock, and what each message costs in rupees.
See it work
Climb with one container from India to Pra'
An importer in Genoa waits on five moments for every box you ship. Step up the ladder to see the message each one calls for.
Nothing on this ladder is marketing. Every rung is about an order the buyer has already placed, which makes it a utility template, approved once by Meta and then filled with the vessel, the date and the reference by your own system.
That is the part to build first: your freight or ERP system calls InfiQ's developer API when the status changes, and the importer never has to ring your office in India to ask where the box is. Their replies arrive in the shared team inbox, where whoever owns the account can answer.
From a booking in India to a delivery slot in Liguria
- Tier 1Tier 1: Booking confirmed (below the current tier)Utility: booking noteUtility: booking note
- Tier 2Tier 2: Sailed (below the current tier)Utility: departure noticeUtility: departure notice
- Tier 3Tier 3: Arrival date moves (below the current tier)Utility: revised ETAUtility: revised ETA
- Tier 4Tier 4: Berthed in Liguria (below the current tier)Utility: arrival noticeUtility: arrival notice
- Tier 5Tier 5: Released and on the road (current)Utility: delivery slotUtility: delivery slot
Tier 5 · Released and on the road
Utility: delivery slot
Why: Release becomes a delivery slot, and the importer's questions land in your team inbox.
Customs has released the box and a truck is booked. The warehouse confirms the slot, and any reply opens a fresh 24-hour window.
Move 4 of 4: climbs to tier 5, Released and on the road (Utility: delivery slot). Release becomes a delivery slot, and the importer's questions land in your team inbox.
Genoa's port, and what India sends to Italy
Figures from the port authority and from India's trade promotion body, read on 20 October 2026.
The Western Ligurian Sea Port System Authority runs four ports as one system: Genoa, Pra', Savona and Vado Ligure.[1]
In 2025 the system handled 63 million tonnes of cargo, about 3 million TEU of containers and about 5 million passengers.[1]
In the first half of 2026, total throughput at Genoa and Savona-Vado was 31.1 million tonnes, down 1.9%, while container gateway traffic rose 1.6% and conventional cargo 6.2%.[1]
India exported US$ 7.79 billion of goods to Italy in FY26; engineering goods led at US$ 3.47 billion, followed by electronics, chemicals, garments, coffee, leather and pharmaceuticals.[2]
At India Maritime Week 2025, Italy's Deputy Minister Edoardo Rixi discussed port digitalisation and green port reforms, IBEF reports.[2]
Italy's Embassy in New Delhi describes the two countries as natural terminals and hubs of the Indo-Mediterranean region.[3]
Industries
Indian businesses with Genoa on the other end
The readers this page is for, and the first messages each sends to a +39 number.
- 01
Engineering goods exporters
India's largest export to Italy. A pump, valve or casting maker shipping into Liguria runs the whole ladder above for every order.[2]
On WhatsApp: Booking and departure notices · Revised ETA alerts · Document-ready messages for the customs broker
- 02
Freight forwarders and NVOCCs
Indian forwarders hand over to an agent at Genoa or Pra'. One WhatsApp thread per shipment keeps the Indian desk and the Italian one on the same facts.[1]
On WhatsApp: Arrival notices to consignees · Free-time and demurrage reminders · Agent hand-over messages
- 03
Cruise and travel sellers
The port authority calls Genoa Italy's second-busiest cruise port. Indian agents selling Mediterranean sailings that embark there send documents and reminders before the trip.[1]
On WhatsApp: Booking confirmation · Embarkation-day reminders · Transfer details on landing in Italy
- 04
Garment, leather and coffee exporters
Smaller lines on India's export list to Italy, often sold to distributors who want stock dates more than catalogues.[2]
On WhatsApp: Order acknowledgement · Sample dispatch notices · Payment reminders
Italian for the importer, English for the shipping desk
Meta approves each language version of a template on its own, so decide which versions a Genoa programme needs before you submit.
MEA counts 251,049 overseas Indians in Italy as of January 2026, and the Consulate General of India in Milan lists Gandhi Jayanti events in Genoa, Vicenza and Turin, so an Indian-language template has real readers in the city. Ask each contact which language they want when they opt in.
Replies inside the 24-hour service window need no template, so an agent can answer a Genoese buyer in Italian whatever language the template went out in.
| Language | Meta code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Italian | it | Importers, distributors and their warehouses |
| English | en | Forwarding agents and shipping lines that already work with you in English |
| Hindi | hi | Indian families in Liguria who book travel or remittance services from India |
Prices in ₹ and EUR
What a message to a Genoa number costs
Italian numbers are charged at Italy's line of Meta's rate card: ₹2.64 for each utility update on the ladder, ₹6.98 for a marketing message, ₹2.64 for authentication and ₹2.64 for a service reply, in rupees before GST. Plans start at ₹999 a month.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ €9.38 EUR
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ €7.83 EUR
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ €28.17 EUR
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ €23.48 EUR
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Genoa · Italy
| Category | ₹ INR | EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹6.9847 | €0.0656 |
| Utility | ₹2.6369 | €0.0248 |
| Authentication | ₹2.6369 | €0.0248 |
| Service | ₹2.6369 | €0.0248 |
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and EUR
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | €0.0511₹5.4352 | €0.0215₹2.2874 | €0.0215₹2.2874 | €0.0215₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0031₹0.3254 | €0.0031₹0.3254 | €0.0031₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | €0.0516₹5.4970 | €0.0056₹0.5981 | €0.0056₹0.5981 | €0.0056₹0.5981 |
| Chile | €0.0734₹7.8162 | €0.0165₹1.7585 | €0.0165₹1.7585 | €0.0165₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | €0.0103₹1.0993 | €0.0007₹0.0706 | €0.0007₹0.0706 | €0.0007₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | €0.0532₹5.6629 | €0.0030₹0.3167 | €0.0030₹0.3167 | €0.0030₹0.3167 |
| France | €0.0710₹7.5588 | €0.0248₹2.6393 | €0.0248₹2.6393 | €0.0248₹2.6393 |
| Germany | €0.113₹12.0088 | €0.0455₹4.8386 | €0.0455₹4.8386 | €0.0455₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0215₹2.2867 | €0.0215₹2.2867 | €0.0215₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0288₹3.0700 | €0.0288₹3.0700 | €0.0288₹3.0700 |
| India | €0.0089₹0.9435 | €0.0018₹0.1941 | €0.0013₹0.1402 | €0.0014₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | €0.0339₹3.6133 | €0.0206₹2.1979 | €0.0206₹2.1979 | €0.0206₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0065₹0.6943 | €0.0065₹0.6943 | €0.0065₹0.6943 |
| Israel | €0.0292₹3.1045 | €0.0044₹0.4662 | €0.0044₹0.4662 | €0.0044₹0.4662 |
| Italy | €0.0656₹6.9847 | €0.0248₹2.6369 | €0.0248₹2.6369 | €0.0248₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | €0.0499₹5.3098 | €0.0149₹1.5824 | €0.0149₹1.5824 | €0.0149₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | €0.0654₹6.9671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | €0.0711₹7.5644 | €0.0116₹1.2314 | €0.0116₹1.2314 | €0.0116₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | €0.0328₹3.4877 | €0.0070₹0.7471 | €0.0070₹0.7471 | €0.0070₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | €0.0342₹3.6425 | €0.0190₹2.0218 | €0.0190₹2.0218 | €0.0190₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | €0.132₹14.0494 | €0.0413₹4.3987 | €0.0413₹4.3987 | €0.0413₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0028₹0.2990 | €0.0028₹0.2990 | €0.0028₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | €0.0427₹4.5421 | €0.0055₹0.5898 | €0.0055₹0.5898 | €0.0055₹0.5898 |
| Oman | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0204₹2.1709 | €0.0204₹2.1709 | €0.0204₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | €0.0391₹4.1620 | €0.0124₹1.3200 | €0.0124₹1.3200 | €0.0124₹1.3200 |
| Peru | €0.0581₹6.1843 | €0.0248₹2.6392 | €0.0248₹2.6392 | €0.0248₹2.6392 |
| Poland | €0.0302₹3.2105 | €0.0101₹1.0702 | €0.0101₹1.0702 | €0.0101₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0099₹1.0547 | €0.0099₹1.0547 | €0.0099₹1.0547 |
| Romania | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0239₹2.5436 | €0.0239₹2.5436 | €0.0239₹2.5436 |
| Russia | €0.0662₹7.0520 | €0.0330₹3.5173 | €0.0330₹3.5173 | €0.0330₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | €0.0475₹5.0537 | €0.0088₹0.9401 | €0.0088₹0.9401 | €0.0088₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0132₹1.4072 | €0.0132₹1.4072 | €0.0132₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | €0.0314₹3.3385 | €0.0079₹0.8369 | €0.0079₹0.8369 | €0.0079₹0.8369 |
| Spain | €0.0584₹6.2161 | €0.0165₹1.7578 | €0.0165₹1.7578 | €0.0165₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0017₹0.1759 | €0.0017₹0.1759 | €0.0017₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | €0.0090₹0.9587 | €0.0007₹0.0792 | €0.0007₹0.0792 | €0.0007₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0246₹2.6138 | €0.0246₹2.6138 | €0.0246₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | €0.0475₹5.0537 | €0.0130₹1.3811 | €0.0130₹1.3811 | €0.0130₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | €0.0524₹5.5795 | €0.0182₹1.9346 | €0.0182₹1.9346 | €0.0182₹1.9346 |
| North America | €0.0206₹2.1976 | €0.0028₹0.2989 | €0.0028₹0.2989 | €0.0028₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | €0.0186₹1.9796 | €0.0033₹0.3516 | €0.0033₹0.3516 | €0.0033₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | €0.0696₹7.4057 | €0.0093₹0.9938 | €0.0093₹0.9938 | €0.0093₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0175₹1.8595 | €0.0175₹1.8595 | €0.0175₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | €0.0611₹6.5048 | €0.0093₹0.9934 | €0.0093₹0.9934 | €0.0093₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | €0.0324₹3.4490 | €0.0075₹0.7998 | €0.0075₹0.7998 | €0.0075₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | €0.0489₹5.2054 | €0.0141₹1.5019 | €0.0141₹1.5019 | €0.0141₹1.5019 |
| Other | €0.0499₹5.3098 | €0.0064₹0.6769 | €0.0064₹0.6769 | €0.0064₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. A cruise guest from India who keeps a +91 number is charged at the Indian rate, ₹0.19 for the same update, because Meta prices by the recipient's country code. Euro amounts in the converter are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costOn InfiQ
What an Indian shipping team runs on InfiQ for Genoa
The ladder needs a system that sends, a library of approved templates and people who answer.
- Developer API and webhooks
Your freight or ERP system triggers each rung of the ladder the moment a status changes, with idempotency keys so a retry never sends a Genoa importer the same arrival notice twice.
- Template manager and library
Keep Italian and English versions of the booking, departure, ETA, arrival and delivery templates together, and track each one through Meta's approval.
- Shared team inbox
Questions from Liguria arrive in the Indian afternoon; transfers and private notes let the export desk hand a thread to accounts without losing the history.
- Consent records and opt-out enforcement
Each Genoa contact's opt-in source and time is stored, and STOP blocks later sends, which is the record Italy's consent rule expects you to keep.
Nearby
City pages near Genoa
The nearest city guides on this site, in Italy and across the border.
Milan and Turin are both within reach of a Genoa shipment's last leg; their pages look at trade fairs and car design. The Italy guide covers the country-wide consent rules once.
Guides for Genoa teams
Questions Genoa businesses ask
- Our containers for a Genoa importer now discharge at Pra' rather than the old port. Do our WhatsApp updates need to change?
- Only the place name inside them. Pra' is part of the same Genoa port system, so the ladder stays the same: booking, departure, revised ETA, arrival and delivery slot, each a utility template at ₹2.64 to an Italian number. Put the terminal the importer knows in the arrival notice so their broker goes to the right place.
- A Ligurian buyer gave us her mobile during a visit to the Genoa port. Can we send her our new pump catalogue on WhatsApp?
- Not on the strength of the visit. Italy's privacy regulator requires prior, specific and documented consent for promotions sent through messaging apps, and says a first promotional message cannot ask for it. Collect a separate opt-in for offers first; the Italy guide sets out the rule, and the catalogue is then a marketing template at ₹6.98.
- We sell Mediterranean cruises that embark in Genoa to families in India. Which rate do their pre-departure messages cost?
- Meta charges by the recipient's country code, so a family with +91 numbers is charged at India's rate, ₹0.19 for a utility reminder. If the same guests write from Italian +39 numbers after landing, those messages cost Italy's rate. Booking confirmations and embarkation reminders are utility; an offer for next season is marketing.
- When should a delay notice leave our Chennai export desk to reach a Genoa freight forwarder at 09:00?
- At 12:30 IST while Italy is on summer time, and at 13:30 IST from 25 October 2026, when the clocks go back, until the last Sunday in March. A delay notice about a live shipment is utility, so it can also go the moment your system knows, at any hour.
- Do our arrival notices to Genoa customs brokers have to be in Italian?
- No rule says so. Meta accepts templates in Italian (it) and English (en), each approved as its own version. A forwarding desk that already writes to you in English can take English templates, while an importer's warehouse may want Italian, so ask each contact at opt-in and keep both versions in the template library.
- Our agency in Genoa clears cargo at Pra' for our Indian parent company. Can the Genoa agency hold the InfiQ account?
- InfiQ serves India-based businesses: it bills in rupees with GST and keeps customer data in India, so the Indian parent is the natural account holder and can message Italian numbers at Italy's rate. If the account has to belong to the Genoa company, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
- [1]Ports of Genoa: four ports, one port authority (traffic 2025 and first half of 2026) · Western Ligurian Sea Port System Authority · read 2026-10-20
- [2]India–Italy trade · India Brand Equity Foundation · read 2026-10-20
- [3]Italy & India · Embassy of Italy, New Delhi · read 2026-10-20
- [4]Consulate General of India, Milan: news and events · Consulate General of India, Milan · read 2026-10-20
- [5]Population of Overseas Indians (as of January 2026) · Ministry of External Affairs, India · read 2026-10-20
- [6]tzdb 'europe' file: Europe/Rome and the EU summer-time rule · IANA Time Zone Database · read 2026-10-20
Put your Genoa shipment updates on the official API
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and have your first arrival-notice template approved once Meta business verification is complete. If your business is based in Genoa, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
