How to export from Nigeria to China, step by step

How to export from Nigeria to China in order: the company, NEPC, market access for your product, the buyer, Form NXP, the documents and getting paid.

To export from Nigeria to China you need four things before anything moves, and a tariff cut that arrived in May 2026 has made the arithmetic better than it has been in years. Nigeria's exports to China rose 80 percent to 2.3 billion dollars in the first half of 2026, according to figures given by the Chinese Ambassador and reported by Nairametrics on 15 August 2026. This page is the whole route in order, with the parts that actually stop people marked clearly, because most first time exporters fail on market access rather than on finding a buyer.

Step 1: check China will actually accept your product #

Do this first, before you buy a single bag. A tariff of zero is worthless if your product has no quarantine access.

China does not simply let food in because a tariff is zero. Agricultural products need market access granted by the General Administration of Customs of China, usually through a protocol with the exporting country, and the exporting facility has to be registered. Two Nigerian categories have that clearly:

Cashew nuts. On 16 June 2026 the Chinese government announced that quarantine access for cashews had been extended to all African countries with diplomatic relations with China under a single unified standard, effective 9 June 2026. Before that only three African countries had access.

Wild aquatic products, meaning fish, shrimp and molluscs. Nigeria and China signed a protocol in 2026 after about five years of negotiation, signed by the Chinese Ambassador and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service.

Cocoa. Nigerian enterprises already appear on the Chinese customs registration list for unroasted coffee and cocoa beans, which reflects the ordinary manufacturer registration route rather than a new protocol.

For sesame, ginger, hibiscus, soya beans, shea and palm kernel, we could not find a signed Nigeria specific protocol, even though officials on both sides name these crops constantly as opportunities. Our page on what China buys from Nigeria goes through them one by one and says honestly which is which. Do not commit money on the strength of a politician's speech.

Step 2: register the business, properly #

You need a company registered at the CAC, a tax identification number, an export domiciliary account at a Nigerian bank, and registration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council. The NEPC exporter's certificate is the base licence; without it you cannot complete the rest of the paperwork.

Registration is done on the NEPC's e-registration portal, which states that certificates issue within one working day after payment is confirmed, given complete documentation. Our NEPC page covers what to prepare.

Step 3: get your facility registered with Chinese customs #

This is the step most Nigerian exporters have never heard of. Chinese regulations require overseas food manufacturers, processors and storage facilities to be registered with Chinese customs before they may export food to China.

NEPC was appointed Nigeria's competent authority for this registration in November 2022, and by April 2024 had registered 67 companies across seven product categories. Registration runs through the Chinese CIFER system.

The rules themselves changed recently. The framework known as Decree 248 is being replaced by Order No. 280, promulgated on 14 October 2025 and effective 1 June 2026, with existing registrations carrying over until they expire. Our GACC registration page explains where to start.

Step 4: find a buyer you have checked #

Not a buyer who found you. The advance fee fraud aimed at exporters runs in one direction: a keen buyer, a large order, and then a request for money up front for registration, notarisation, certification or a trip. Our finding buyers page covers the trade fairs that put you in front of real importers, and how to check a Chinese company's registration on China's own free public registry before you talk price.

Step 5: agree terms that protect you #

For a first shipment to an unfamiliar buyer, the trade standard is an irrevocable letter of credit, ideally confirmed by a bank in Nigeria, and FOB rather than CIF so the buyer's forwarder carries the international leg. Our getting paid page explains each of these and what they cost.

Step 6: the paperwork #

Per the NEPC's own export documents guidance, the set is:

Form NXP is the one that matters to the Central Bank, because it is how your export proceeds are tracked. Our NXP page covers it, including the repatriation deadline that catches people.

Step 7: ship, and bring the money home #

Non oil export proceeds must reach your domiciliary account within 180 days of the bill of lading date, and since January 2025 the Central Bank has stopped banks granting extensions beyond that window, as Nairametrics reported on 9 January 2025. That is a hard deadline, and it is a reason to insist on payment terms that actually pay inside it.

So what does it take to export from Nigeria to China? #

The zero tariff is real and it is worth money: one reported example puts the saving at about 11,000 dollars per 100 tonnes of sesame. Our zero tariff page explains exactly what it covers and the 2028 end date that applies to Nigeria.

But the tariff is the last obstacle, not the first. Market access, facility registration, quality and a buyer who pays are the four that decide whether the first container is a business or an education. Work through them in that order.

First published 20 Sep 2026. Last checked 20 Sep 2026 by The ChinaBridge desk. Something here out of date? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it.