Shipping From Nigeria To USA: Cost & Steps (2024)
Presently, people can order any product from any part of the word and it would be delivered to their door step. Do you think that is possible? Yes, it is. Shipping from Nigeria to the USA has been a very lucrative business especially when it is has to do with exporting our solid minerals (crude oil, gold, tin etc.), local farm produce (cocoa, cotton, groundnut and palm oil, ginger, garlic, turmeric, melon) and food item like processed cassava locally called garri. People also go as far as shipping our traditional accessories like Adire, Isi agu, Asoke and locally made beads. Our sculptures and artifacts are not left out here.
Shipping from Nigeria to US is not as difficult as it seems. The most important thing is to decide on which method to use.
The two possible ways this could be achieved are through
- Air freight
- Sea freight
Air Freight
When we talk of air freight, we mean cargo planes. This means is very fast, it a better option when you want your items to arrive the said destination in less than a week. Unlike the sea freight, it is quite expensive and could cost about five times more. Some cargo planes can charge about $10 to move materials (letters and postcards) from Nigeria to USA within 4 working days.
Sea Freight
Sea freight is a better option to some people because relatively cheap which makes it more affordable. It is the best means working on budget and also fit for bulky good. However, it is quite slow and could take several weeks to get to the required destination. Sea freight is the most frequently used in transporting materials to US. Delivery of goods could take up to 3-6 months. Most of the shipping companies take up the whole service from the point when it leaves to when it reaches the intended customers.
Cost of Shipping From Nigeria To United States (USA)
Shipping by sea is often the most preferred choice, therefore the basic knowledge of how it works is vital to make the transportation a smooth one. In shipping by sea from Nigeria to USA, it is ideal to go for a full container load to get a 25% discount from shipping companies as their client. Full container load (FCL) shipping is often available for business that has items to fill up a container. The commodities are usually shipped in either a 20ft container at the cost of $2000 to $2500 or a 40ft container at the cost of $4000 to $4500. However, in cases where there are not enough materials to fill up the container, but has about 15 cubic meters of cargo, the container could be shared with others and this process is called Less Than Container Load (LCL).
Shipping in large quantity from Nigeria to US is cost effective and allows shipping companies to lower the cost of shipping for all their customers. Some companies charge about $50 for their service. The destination of the product depends on the part of US you are the material is going to. On getting to US, the commodities must be cleared customs. Customs clearing is usually done at the airport and seaport in Houston. Clearing the materials at the US port can be completed in about 2 working days. Customs officials would inspect your container to ensure that the products are allowed in the country.
How To Ship Goods From Nigeria To USA
The sender is required to take the following steps to ensure adequate delivery;
Step 1: Provide accurate information
It is very important to provide detailed and accurate infornation of the goods and items you want to ship from Nigeria to US. The vital information to be provided goes as follows:
- The name of the material
- Description of the material
- Quantity of the material
- Price (value) of the material.
Step 2: Suitable packaging
Materials shipped from Nigeria to the USA should be packaged using suitable materials with correct labelling for easy identification.
Step 3: Provide proper documentation
When shipping from Nigeria to the USA the individual sending would do some necessary documentation as required by the US Customs and FDA to ensure that the commodities get to the receiver without any hitch. A lot of Nigerian products are in high demand in the US and exporting to US is a very lucrative business to delve into. Therefore, there is need to ensure proper documentation for safe delivery of materials.
10 Shipping Requirements From Nigeria To Usa
- Commercial invoice
An commerce invoice includes the proper description of the product, the address of the shipping company and the name and address of the sender and the terms payment and delivery. It completes the transaction between the seller and the customer and also serve as a proof of ownership.
- Bill of lading
The Bill of lading is a detailed list of a ship’s cargo in the form of receipt given by the seller to the retailer. There are two types of bill of lading. The first is negotiable bill of which is an agreement of carriage that can be transferred and used by a third party through consignment. The second is the non-negotiable bill of lading which sets out a specific consignee to whom the goods are to be shipped.
- Consular invoice
Some countries require a consular invoice which is used to control and identify goods. This invoice is usually obtained from the administration of the country to which the goods are being exported.
- Certificate of origin
This is an invoice that covers the shipment of goods which shows some information about the buyer, the seller and the value of the shipment. It provides a complete and detailed description of the products or materials to the custom authorities where the products are to be received to make sure that the right import duty is levied on the products. It is a signed declaration showing the origin of the products and can be obtained from Local Chamber of Commerce.
- Inspection certificate
Inspection certificate is the document that attests to the fact that what is being shipped is actually what the customer requested for. It is issued to ensure that the products are in good condition, when used as a document under letter of credit terms, the details of the party providing the inspection would be mentioned.
- Dock receipt and warehouse receipt
Dock receipt These receipts are prepared by the exporter and serve as a proof of delivery of the cargo to the international carrier in good condition. Ware house receipt provides proof of ownership of the goods, they can be used as collateral for loans.
- Destination control statement
This statement is usually found on the commercial invoice, it shows that the goods exported are destined to that particular country as stated in the shipping documents.
- Insurance certificate
This document declares the type, limit and cost of the insurance coverage. It also indicates the insurance company, policy number and the name insured.
- Export license
The export license is a government document that gives the license to export a given number of commodities to a particular country. The organizations that can issue this license in Nigeria are Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), their duty is to issue export license for agricultural produce and the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development whose duty is to grant licenses for extraction and exportation in Nigeria.
- Export packing list
This document lists the goods in each package indicating the type of packaging i.e box, carton, crate, drum etc. it shows all the details about a particular packaging of a particular product and contained in a shipment. This is usually added to the surface of a container in a waterproof cover marked “packing list enclosed.” The forwarding agency uses it to determine if the correct shipment is being exported. Customs officials at the receiving country use the list to check the delivery. This procedure could be done by the brokerage companies that provide services and all the individual needs is to provide them with adequate information.
