Import from Guangzhou to Lagos, without fear.
One of the highest-volume sourcing lanes into West Africa — and one of the least supported. We are opening corridor by corridor, and starting here: verified sellers, the real landed cost, the documents that actually matter, and shipments you can track.
Focus is the strategy, not a limitation.
A platform that claims every route at once proves none of them. Guangzhou → Lagos concentrates real, recurring demand — consumer goods, electronics, machinery and building materials — against exactly the friction Crossbotra is built to remove. We make this corridor work in depth, then open the next by demand.
What actually lands on your invoice.
The supplier price is the smallest part of what you pay. Here is the indicative stack for a container of general goods on this corridor — the same components the platform computes precisely, per shipment.
| Cost component | Indicative basis | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Goods value (FOB Guangzhou) | Your supplier price | The figure most importers see — and the only one many plan around. |
| Ocean freight + insurance | Added to reach CIF | Port-to-port Nansha/Shenzhen → Apapa/Tin Can, plus cargo insurance. |
| Import duty | Indicative 5–35% of CIF | Set by HS code under the ECOWAS Common External Tariff. |
| VAT | 7.5% of (CIF + duty) | Nigeria standard rate (FIRS). |
| Levies & charges | Indicative 2–9% | ETLS levy, port and terminal handling, PAAR/inspection where applicable. |
| Clearing & haulage | Quoted per shipment | Agent fees, demurrage risk, and delivery from Apapa/Tin Can. |
Indicative only. Duty depends on HS code; the platform computes your exact landed cost per shipment.
From booking to your door.
Booking & origin handling
3–7 days
Supplier readiness, consolidation, export clearance at origin.
Ocean transit
28–40 days
Direct and transhipment routings vary; peak-season sailings run longer.
Arrival & customs clearance
7–21 days
Where most delay concentrates — PAAR, examination, and duty assessment.
Delivery to your door
1–5 days
Haulage from Apapa/Tin Can; demurrage accrues if clearance stalls.
Indicative sea-freight ranges; air freight compresses transit to roughly 5–10 days at higher cost. Most delay concentrates in customs clearance at Apapa / Tin Can.
The paperwork you will actually encounter.
One error on one form holds your goods. These are the documents this corridor requires — and how the platform helps you get each one right.
Form M
The mandatory import declaration, opened through your bank before shipment.
Crossbotra prepares the details and flags what your bank will require, so it isn't rejected.
PAAR
The Pre-Arrival Assessment Report that sets your duty and clearance basis.
We assemble the supporting values and documents that the PAAR is issued against.
Bill of Lading
The carrier's title document for your goods.
We check consignee and description details match the Form M before it's issued.
Commercial invoice & packing list
The seller's proof of what was sold and shipped.
We validate these against your order so customs values line up.
SONCAP certificate
Conformity certificate required for regulated products.
We identify when SONCAP applies and route the product test/certification early.
Certificate of origin
Proof of where goods were made, for tariff treatment.
We confirm the origin evidence needed for your HS code.
The problems on this route — and what we do about each.
Drawn from our importer research, mapped to the corridor. Each challenge is paired with the capability built to address it.
Unverifiable sellers in a high-volume sourcing market
Business identity and standing are checked before you transact.
Minimum-order demands that lock out smaller buyers
Crossbotra helps you buy a workable quantity at a fair price.
A quoted price that hides duty, VAT, levies and clearing
The landed-cost view shows every component before you commit.
Form M, PAAR and SONCAP errors that strand goods at Apapa
Documents are prepared and checked against corridor requirements.
Deposits paid before any assurance the deal is real
Payments are designed to release against agreed checkpoints, via licensed partners.
Opaque customs delays and demurrage exposure
Shipment status is tracked so you can act before costs accrue.
Be first on the Guangzhou → Lagos corridor.
Founding importers on this corridor help shape what we build and get first priority when it opens. No payment now — we reach out to you first.
Indicative structures compiled from the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (import duty by HS code), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (VAT), the Central Bank of Nigeria (Form M) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SONCAP). Duty, levies, freight and timelines vary by HS code, carrier, and season — every figure here is indicative and is computed per shipment inside the platform. The corridor challenges are drawn from Imponexpo's importer research.