In this article, you will learn how easy it is to ship goods from China to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gambia, South Africa, and other African countries.

Here are some of the considerations you have to make before shipping from China to Nigeria;

1. The location of the shipping company or freight forwarder you want to use to ship your goods
2. The size of what you want to ship
3. The actual shipping rate from China to Nigeria or your destination country
4. Legal fees, custom clearing, and insurance
5. The shipping duration from China to Nigeria
6. Platform-based shopping – Alibaba, 1688, AliExpress, Taobao, JD, etc

The above outline will form our foundation on how goods are shipped from China to Nigeria.

The shipping company or Freight forwarder to Nigeria.

Who are the shipping company? If you have communicated with a Chinese supplier, there is a chance that they have asked you this question…

Do you have a freight forwarder?

Do you have a freight forwarding agent?

Shipping company and freight forwarder are interchangeably used.

The shipping company owns cargo flights, containers, and ships while freight forwarders are the middleman between the shipping company and you.

It is like an airline company and a flight agent. Flight agents help you to book available tickets, and choose the best flight, and the available time and prices.

This is exactly how shipping and freight forwarding agent work. So, it is more appropriate to use a freight forwarding agent than a shipping company.

The location of your freight forwarding agent is important. China has many provinces and districts. This is important when a supplier is calculating the local delivery charges to your freight forwarding agent address in China.

It is also important when considering how long it will take for your goods to get to the shipping company address in China (Freight forwarder).

Before shipping outside china be it shipping from China to Nigeria or any other country, you must have a freight forwarding company or a courier company (FedEx, DHL, UPS).

Your supplier may not ship directly to your country unless they work as an agent for a courier company. There is a need for a freight forwarding company in order for the seller to move your goods to them.

In our company, we work as a procurement, warehousing, and freight forwarding company for some African countries – Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gambia, and South Africa.

We can help you to get your goods from your supplier before shipping them down to your country.

The process is as follows

1. Your supplier packages your goods
2. Your supplier arrange a local delivery service for your packaged goods to our warehouse in China.
3. The local delivery service delivers the goods to our warehouse
4. We will acknowledge the receipt of your goods and update you immediately.
5. That is the entire process at your shipping company’s warehouse.

The size of what you want to ship

The size of your goods to be shipped comprises two major factors

1. The quantity of goods
2. The weight or the volume of your goods.

These two factors will determine how your goods will be shipped to your destination country. They affect the shipping cost and what shipping method to use for your shipment.

Goods from China can be shipped in two channels

1. By Air (Air Cargo) – calculated by the kilogram
2. By Sea (Sea Crago) – calculated by cubic meter

These two channels are further divided into options

• Normal Air Shipping (Guangzhou Cargo)
• Sensitive Shipping (HongKong Cargo)
• Express Shipping
• Sea Cargo.

Nevertheless, we will focus more on the concept of shipping by air and by sea. The size of your goods will determine how much you will pay for the shipping cost and which shipping channel to use.

How much does it cost to ship from China to Nigeria?

Now, we have considered what a freight forwarding agent or shipping company means and understood the importance of knowing the size of your goods as a factor in the shipping cost.

1. What then is the actual shipping cost from China to Nigeria?
2. What is the shipping fee for normal air cargo?
3. What is the shipping fee for sea cargo?

All these questions may be popping into your mind right now. To get the actual shipping cost from China to your destination country, first

• You need to understand either the volume in cubic meters or the weight in kilograms of your goods.
• You need to understand the current shipping rate of the shipping company/freight forwarding agent of your choice.
• You need to understand the clearing fee or customs charges if applicable for your country
• You also need to check if there is any legal fee to be paid.
• Additionally, you may need to consider opting out of an insurance plan for your goods. Insurance protection offers a rescue option in case there is any challenge that’s beyond control. But rest assured that there is a 5% chance out of 100 for any unforeseen circumstances.

At Freightya, our current shipping rates to Nigeria are below

• Normal Air Cargo = $7 per kg for shipping from China to Nigeria, ₦500 per kg for clearing in Nigeria including customs duties. It takes about 7 days.
• Sea cargo = $354 per cubic meter (cbm) including customs duties. It takes 2-3 months. Click here to learn more about how sea shipping works.

How do I calculate the Shipping fee?

For Air Cargo

(Total weight x shipping fee x dollar conversion rate) + (Clearing fee x total weight)

Let’s say you have an 8KG goods to be shipped to Nigeria. You have decided to use air cargo,

The air cargo shipping fee is $7 per kg, ₦500 per kg. The dollar rate to Naira is about ₦740

To calculate the shipping fee, follow the calculation below

Total weight x shipping fee x dollar conversion rate clearing fee.

8kg  x  $7 x ₦740 = ₦41,440.

To calculate the clearing fee, follow the calculation below

Total weight x ₦500

8kg x 500 = ₦4,000

Total air cargo shipping for an 8KG goods will be around 

₦41,440 + 4000 = ₦45,440

For Sea Cargo

Sea shipping is calculated in cubic meters written as CBM.

1 CBM costs $354 including customs duty.

The formula is

total cbm x shipping cost x dollar rate.

Let’s say your goods weigh 1.6cbm.

Your shipping cost will be

1.6 x $354 x ₦740 = ₦419,136

Shipping insurance

Shipping insurance can cover loss or damage to goods up to the insured value plus shipping costs.

Your freight forwarding agent can purchase shipping insurance on your behalf, which will cover packages that are lost, damaged while in transit.

Most insurance cost ranges from 0.003% to 0.006% depending on the insurance company. It is recommended to buy an insurance for goods that have high value.

We hope you found this article helpful.