Exporter = is a person or company or entity that is authorised by Customs and Govt authorities to export cargoes to various countries..
This is also the party responsible for filing the export declaration with the customs authorities..
Exporter need not necessarily be the actual seller of the cargo or the entity actually concluding the deal..
Shipper = is a person or company or entity that is shown in all the shipping documents (bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list) as the party responsible for procuring and/or placing the order for shipment and maybe also for arranging the freight payment etc..
Shipper shown on the bill of lading need not necessarily be a registered exporter.. A Freight Forwarder can also be shown as the shipper on a lines bill of lading..
There are a lot of international traders based all over the world (say London) shipping cargo from one country (say South Africa) to another country (say India) and on the bills of lading that are released for such shipments, the shipper could be the trader in London..
So the short answer to the above question is YES OF COURSE IT CAN..
