Sea Freight from China to Kaduna
China → Kaduna · via KAN air / Apapa sea · clearance by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)
We move sea freight cargo from South China into Kaduna through KAN air / Apapa sea. Kaduna is a northern industrial city with an inland dry port, which shapes the kind of cargo that moves on this lane and how it should be packed.
On the destination side, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) handles clearance; budget 7-21 days, longer at Apapa in peak season of dwell before the cargo is released.
Duty, tax and clearance into Kaduna
Imports into Nigeria are cleared by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The headline position is: VAT 7.5%; customs duty 0-35%, plus levies on selected goods. The de-minimis threshold is No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo.
Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: SONCAP is required for most regulated goods and the certificate has to be issued before shipment; a Form M and a PAAR are required for the customs entry. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.
Restrictions and known friction points for Nigeria: SONCAP and the Form M have to be in place before the goods ship; this is the single most common reason a Nigerian consignment sits on the quay. Apapa congestion and the cost of the final road leg inside Lagos are frequently larger than the ocean freight itself.
Routing and transit on this lane
Lagos has three container gateways and they are not interchangeable. Apapa is the oldest and the best connected to the standard-gauge rail and the inland dry ports, but its draft is the shallowest at about 12.5 m. Tin Can Island specialises in roll-on roll-off and vehicle imports. Lekki Deep Sea Port is the newest, automated, and at about 16.5 m draft it is the only one of the three that takes the largest container ships, which is why an increasing share of regional cargo routes through it. Onne serves the east and the oil and gas sector.
| Sea gateways used | Lagos Port Complex (Apapa), Tin Can Island, Lekki Deep Sea Port |
|---|---|
| Sea transit, China to gateway | 30-45 calendar days |
| Gateway serving Kaduna | KAN air / Apapa sea |
| Inland leg to Kaduna | 3-5 days inland from the gateway |
| Typical clearance / dwell | 7-21 days, longer at Apapa in peak season |
| Peak season to plan around | Aug-Dec |
What to sort out before the cargo leaves China
- Confirm the consignee in Kaduna can act as importer of record — Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
- Book earlier than the transit time suggests during Aug-Dec, when space on this lane tightens.
- Check the de-minimis position (No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
- Budget for the inland leg: 3-5 days inland beyond gateway clearance to reach Kaduna.
- Put the Kaduna delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
- Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.
Frequently asked questions
How long does shipping from China to Kaduna take?
China to the Nigeria gateway is 30-45 calendar days. On top of that, allow 7-21 days, longer at Apapa in peak season of clearance with Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and a 3-5 days inland inland leg to Kaduna.
What duty and tax will I pay importing into Kaduna?
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) applies: VAT 7.5%; customs duty 0-35%, plus levies on selected goods. The de-minimis position is No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Kaduna.
Which port or airport does cargo for Kaduna clear through?
Cargo for Kaduna is routed via KAN air / Apapa sea. Sea gateways for Nigeria are Lagos Port Complex (Apapa), Tin Can Island, Lekki Deep Sea Port; air gateways are LOS (Lagos), ABV (Abuja), KAN (Kano). We pick whichever gives the shortest total door time for your address.
What documents does Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) require?
A commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, a certificate of origin where it lowers duty, and any product certification (SONCAP is required for most regulated goods and the certificate has to be issued before shipment; a Form M and a PAAR are required for the customs entry). We prepare and file these as part of the service.
Can you ship batteries or sensitive cargo to Kaduna?
Yes. Battery cargo by sea moves under UN3480/UN3481 with an MSDS, and the dangerous-goods documentation is prepared as part of the booking into Lagos Port Complex (Apapa), Tin Can Island, Lekki Deep Sea Port. Surcharges apply and space is more limited than for general cargo.
Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Kaduna?
Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 30-45 calendar days by sea versus 5-9 business days by air to the Nigeria gateway, before clearance and the 3-5 days inland inland leg. The crossover point is normally somewhere between 100 and 300 kg depending on the density of your cargo.
Other delivery cities in Nigeria
References & official sources
Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Nigeria change by ministerial decision, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your own HS code with Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) or your broker before you ship.
- WTO — Tariff Profiles (applied MFN duty by country)
- WCO — Harmonized System nomenclature
- IMO — IMDG Code for dangerous goods by sea
- IATA — Lithium battery shipping guidance (PI 965–970)
Page data last reviewed: November 2026.
Shipping by industry
This page covers the route and clearance picture for the destination. Packing, classification and the compliance step that actually holds a shipment depend on what you are sending — these guides cover that by commodity.
- Pressure Vessels Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Industrial Boilers General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Solar Panel New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Lithium Battery New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Bicycle Parts Automotive & Vehicles
- Wall Panels Building Materials & Construction Products
- Corrugated Packaging Wood, Bamboo & Paper Products
- Glass Packaging Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Electronic Switches Electronic Components & Semiconductors
- IoT Devices Consumer Electronics & Smart Devices
- Furniture Furniture & Home Products
- Home Storage Products Furniture & Home Products
Price Trend — Kaduna
Live rate for the linked route page, shown here for a quick read before you click through.
Checking the Nigeria duty position yourself
Treat the landed-cost numbers here as a planning baseline. Nigeria Customs Service sets the rate that actually gets charged, assessed against your HS classification at the moment of clearance, so their own guidance is worth reading before a large order.
If you want to sanity-check a duty figure yourself, start from the heading rather than the product name — the WCO Harmonized System is the underlying nomenclature, and the WTO Tariff & Trade Data portal holds the applied rates by country pair.
For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.
On the origin side, export declaration and any commodity inspection requirement fall under China Customs (GACC); we handle that filing as part of the service, but the requirement is theirs, not ours.
For a wider view of how importing into Nigeria actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Nigeria customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.
Watch: the process behind this route
This guide covers routing and clearance for Kaduna. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.
Ocean Freight 101 - What Is LCL Ocean Freight — Flexport. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.