If you are importing through Lagos, there is a good chance your cargo is going to pass through Tin Can Island Port. It’s one of the busiest ports in Nigeria, and for many importers, it’s also where the real cost of doing business becomes clear not
If you’re importing food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, or packaged water into Nigeria, there’s one regulatory step you cannot skip.NAFDAC registration. Skip it, and your goods can sit at the port for weeks, get flagged during customs clearance, or get seized outright, no matter how solid
Picture that your container has finally landed at Apapa or Tin Can Island after weeks at sea. Your customs agent calls, but instead of good news, they tell you clearance can’t start because one document is missing. Demurrage is ticking. Your goods are sitting in the
You already know that Nigerian customs duty is calculated on your CIF value. You understand import duty, surcharge, ETLS, FCS, and VAT. But there is one number you still need before any of that calculation makes sense for your specific business, the actual duty rate that
Most Nigerian importers find out what customs will charge them at the port after their container has arrived and the demurrage clock has started. That is not budgeting. That is guessing. And it is one of the most avoidable reasons import businesses lose margin on otherwise
If you have ever paid for a carton and later realized half of it was just air, you already know the problem this post is solving. Whether you are importing merchandise for your shop, moving personal items after relocating, or sending household goods to family in
Your container left China weeks ago. You paid your supplier, your freight forwarder confirmed the booking, and now silence. You do not know where your goods are, when they will reach Lagos, or whether something has gone wrong. You check WhatsApp, no update. You call your
Every Nigerian importer who has thought about visiting China eventually faces the same question: Yiwu or Guangzhou? Your agent says Guangzhou. Your friend who imports phone accessories says Yiwu. An article you read online says ‘it depends on your product.’ And then you go in circles
Walk through any major market in Lagos, Onitsha, or Aba and you will find goods that passed through Yiwu. Phone accessories, hair accessories, toys, bags, stationery, socks, artificial flowers, party supplies,the sheer volume and variety of what Nigeria imports from Yiwu’s wholesale market is staggering. Yet
Most Nigerian importers focus on two things: first is the price of their goods in China, and second is the shipping rate to Nigeria. Everything in between- what happens to your cargo between the factory and the port barely gets a mention. That invisible middle stage