Transporting container cargoes to the ports in Nigeria is one of the most tasking challenges faced by exporters. It’s so tough that a lot of containers spend over 4 weeks on the queue just to get into the port, while several others spend as much as 6 to 8 weeks.
The challenge with this is that Nigerian exporters shipping commodities stand to lose their contract if the timeline elapses while the container is still on the queue, and even worse if the goods are perishable goods, as they might all get spoil before it even enters the port of origin, talkless of reaching the port of delivery assuming it spends the usual 4 to 8 weeks on the queue.
If you’re an exporter battling with choices on how to quickly get your goods into the port within one to two weeks, here are 4 highly effective ways to do it:
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1). Inside Stuffing:
When you opt to do inside stuffing, it means that you’re loading the goods onto a non-container truck, transporting it to the HBX port terminal (formerly called PMS) in Lagos, and offloading into a container there.
Now, if you’re transporting with a loaded container to the Apapa port, you could spend up to 6 or more weeks on the queue, but if you’re transporting a normal truck to the HBX Terminal, you’d spend around 3 days on the road, as you won’t join the container queue.
Now how does this help you?
HBX terminal is a 10-minute walk from the Apapa port as they’re both on the same road (creek road). What this means is after you stuff your cargo into a container at the HBX terminal, the container will remain there for a week while you finish all customs clearance procedures, and when you’re done, the terminal operators will transfer the container to the Apapa port terminal in 24 hours.
This means your goods would be inside the port within 2 weeks maximum.
2). Lesser Crowded Ports:
Asides the crowded seaports in Lagos, there is a new and fast-rising seaport in Port Harcourt city in Rivers State, Nigeria, called the Onne seaport.
This seaport is less crowded, has shorter queues, and containers usually enter the port within 2 weeks there, although it’s more expensive than the Lagos seaport.
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3). Railway:
Another way to move a container into the port quickly is via railway. To achieve this, you’d need to load a container onto a container truck and transport it to the Iddo railway terminal in Lagos state.
When the container is at the terminal, it will be loaded onto a train alongside other containers and will be transported to the port within 3 days.
It’s important to know that you can only load a minimum of 40 ft container on the train at a time, meaning that it’s either you’re loading one 40 ft container or two 20 ft containers.
4). By Barge:
Barge is one of the fastest ways to transport shipping containers to the port in Nigeria. This is possible because the containers are loaded onto a river barge which is then transported by the water network to the port.
When transporting by barge, the container may enter the port within 3 to 7 days depending on clearances that need to be done.
One place you can load a container on a barge is at the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal (a customs bonded terminal) in Lagos. You’d be expected to bring your container from outside on a truck to the terminal, after which it would then be processed and loaded on a barge for transportation to the port.
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To Sum It Up
Transporting cargo containers to the port in Nigeria can be a major headache. Most people spend weeks and sometimes months just to get their containers into the port by road, but if you use any of these four methods above to transport your containers, they could be in the port within one to two weeks.
An Important Point
Startup Tips Daily Media’s sister company, Globexia Limited, is a global commodity trading firm that exports agricultural products like Sesame Seeds, Raw Cashew Nuts, Dry Split Ginger, Soybeans, Dry Hibiscus Flower, Tiger Nuts, and much more agro commodities from Nigeria to international buyers around the world. The company also exports solid minerals like muscovite mica and Lithium ores, and facilitates oil and gas trade within Nigeria.
If you’re an international buyer looking to purchase commodities from Nigeria through an export company you can trust, Globexia is an organisation to work with.
You can contact us through the details below.
+2348080888162
www.globexia.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
This is very relieving and eye opening. I was so overwhelmed and discouraged when I routed apapa via mile2 to get to NEPC’s office at GRA on Monday. With loads of trucks carrying containers littered every where in ques, coupled with “pain inflicting” bad roads in that axis, I cuaght me asking myself “Do You really want to go into export business?!” Lol. I wondered how freight forwarding agents gets through all these hassles. Though some roads are poorly under construction, the ministry of works needs to place priority on areas as these that are fundamental to our economy. When going back I had to exit the area via custain. Thank you for bringing such insightful informations on exports to the benefit of “especially” aspiring exporters.
Thank you for reading and contributing your thoughts, Frank.
Do have a great time.