Standards for Export
To begin discussing the standards for export, it is important to first understand the importance of standards. Standards are important for quality control and enable manufacturers to produce quality products with consistent performance. In accordance with Annex VI of the AfCFTA agreement, all goods exported within the AfCFTA must meet certain standards.
As an exporter, you want your products to be recognized both locally and globally. To achieve this, your products must meet certain standards, be priced competitively, and earn the trust of consumers worldwide. The certification plays a vital role as documented evidence that your product meets the applicable standards.
But it’s important to remember that simply meeting standards requirements is not enough to succeed in export markets. You must also address challenges beyond standard specifications, such as each destination’s country conformity assessment. That’s why it’s strongly recommended that you access information on the conformity assessment program of your target market and learn how to comply with its requirements. This way, you can be sure that your product quality will not only meet standards but also satisfy the requirement needed to gain access to your desired market.
Thus, your product must first be certified locally by SON to meet the specific need of your destination market.
Safeguard Requirements
Nigeria, like many other countries, has established certain measures to safeguard its domestic industries and protect them from unfair competition. These safeguard measures are implemented through various trade policies and regulations. Here are some key points regarding Nigeria’s export safeguard requirements:
It is important for exporters to familiarize themselves with Nigeria’s specific safeguard requirements, as they play a crucial role in facilitating trade while ensuring compliance with applicable regulations. It is recommended to consult with relevant government agencies, such as the Nigerian Customs Service, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON), for detailed information and guidance on specific goods and requirements.
Quality Assurance
In the world of international trade, delivering exceptional products is not just a goal—it’s an absolute necessity. As a Nigerian exporter, your commitment to quality speaks volumes, and that’s where Quality Assurance comes into play. These documents hold the key to regulatory compliance and provide the solid foundation for your business endeavors.
Amidst the array of quality certifications available, certain ones hold particular significance for Nigerian exporters. These include:
A health certificate is a document that verifies that food products meet the necessary health and safety standards required for import or export. This certificate is an important document that assures importing countries that the products are safe for human consumption. The health certificate is issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Institution/Systems:
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
What do you get?
NAFDAC Health Certificate
- CAC Certificate of Incorporation
- NEPC Exporter Registration Certificate
- NAQS Phytosanitary Certificate
- Export Order
- Shipping Documents (I.e., Proforma Invoice and Nigeria Export Proceeds Form)
Timeline:
Total: 90 days for food, 120 days for drugs
- Submission of Application – 0 days
- Document Verification – 10 days
- Facility Inspection/Sampling – 10 days for food, 20 days for drugs
- Laboratory Analysis – 30 days for food, 40 days for drugs
- Final Vetting – 10 days
- Approval Meeting/Issuance of NAFDAC registration Number (Certificate of registration) – 20 days
Legal Justification
- National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control Act
- Draft an application letter to register your new product with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
- Once NAFDAC receives your application letter, they will issue you a form to complete.
- Fill out the form and attach the required documents.
- Make the necessary payments as required by NAFDAC.
- NAFDAC will conduct laboratory tests on your product to ensure that it meets the prescribed standards.
- If your product meets all the standards, NAFDAC will issue a health certificate. However, if it does not meet the required standards, NAFDAC will issue a compliance directive.
*Note* You are advised to ensure all these steps are completed at least three weeks prior to the date of intended exportation.
A Phytosanitary Certificate gives the assurance that plant products being exported from Nigeria meet the phytosanitary requirements of the importing country. It ensures that the plant materials are free from pests, diseases, or other contaminants that could potentially harm the receiving country’s agriculture and ecosystem.
Institution/Systems:
Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS)
What do you get?
NAQS Phytosanitary Certificate (Insert link to Appendix 17 – Phytosanitary Certificate Sample)
- Completed application form
- CAC Certificate of Incorporation
- MEMAT and Company Profile (CAC documents)
- Export permit (Issued by NAQS)
- Proof of registration as an exporter (NEPC Export Certificate)
Fees & Charges for NAQS Phytosanitary
- Approved fee schedule and timeline for export of Plants Products. (Insert link to Appendix 20 – Plant Export User Fees)
Legal Justification
Recourse:
Name: SM Tanto (Insert image available in Appendix 18)
Contact Number: 07056893124
Email: contact@naqs.gov.ng; Senyamba.tanto@naqs.gov.ng
- Ensure your consignment is not on the NCS prohibition list.
- Obtain a plant import permit for the destination country. The application forms are available at designated quarantine offices in Ibadan, Ikeja, Kano, Port-Harcourt, Maiduguri, and Abuja.
- Locate the nearest Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) office and inform them of your export permit details and the departure date of your consignment.
- Obtain the application form for registration with NAQS.
- Complete the form with accurate and appropriate information and present your consignment for inspection to NAQS.
- Submit the form and required documents in person.
- Pay the fee for the issuance of the phytosanitary certificate.
- The NAQS officers will inspect your consignment and ensure that the consignments of plants/plant products are pest free at the time of examination, and present a report.
- If the product is deemed satisfactory, it will be released. Otherwise, it will be detained for further quarantine action.
- The product will be held for a reasonable quarantine period, and laboratory checks and certification will be performed.
- If your product, or consignment does not meet the requirements, you will have to pay user fees for further necessary quarantine action.
- If the plant is infested with pests, NAQS may seize it for further necessary action or destroy it at your expense.
- If all conditions of the importing country are met, NAQS will issue a Phytosanitary Certificate.
- If the conditions are not met, NAQS will issue a Compliance Directive.
- Only one phytosanitary certificate is issued per consignment.
Note: Plant materials that are exported without a phytosanitary certificate may be rejected or destroyed upon arrival at the importing country, and the exporter will be responsible for any expenses incurred. While your product will undergo checks at the point of export, you should note that there may be further compliance checks upon entry into the importing country.
A Sanitary Certificate is issued for the export of animal products, such as meat, poultry, dairy products, and eggs. It verifies that these products have undergone proper sanitary measures, inspections, and testing to ensure they meet the health and safety standards of the importing country.
Institution/Systems:
Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS)
What do you get?
- NAQS Zoo-Sanitary Certificate {For Live Animals}
- NAQS Sanitary Certificate (For Animal Products)
- Completed application form
- CAC Certificate of Incorporation
- Memorandum and Articles of Association (MEMAT) and Company Profile (CAC documents)
- International Veterinary Health Certificate (Import/Export Permit) – Issued by the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria (CVON)
- CITES Export permit (Obtained from Federal Ministry of Environment for Wildlife & Endangered Specie)
- Proof of registration as an exporter (NEPC Export Certificate)
Fees, Charges & Timeline for NAQS Sanitary (Animal Export)
- Approved User fee schedule for export of Animals/Animals Products based on the categories of animals. (Insert link to Appendix 16 – Animal Export User Fee)
Legal Justification
Recourse:
Name: SM Tanto (Insert image available in Appendix 18)
Contact Number: 07056893124
Email: contact@naqs.gov.ng; Senyamba.tanto@naqs.gov.ng
NAQS Procedures/Steps:
- As an intending exporter, you are to notify the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) know that you plan to export animal or animal products.
- Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and NAQS is required.
- NAQS will inspect and certify your establishment, farm, and production line as suitable for exporting.
- NAQS will issue a certification certificate to your establishment, farm, and production line as fit for export.
- Apply for an International Veterinary Certificate (Export Permit) from the office of the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria (CVON), Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services (DVPCS), FMARD, Area 11, Garki Abuja and a CITES permit from the Ministry of Environment if the animal or product is a wildlife or endangered species.
- Inform NAQS about the Export Permit details, such as the departure date, port of exit, and validity of the permit, when it is issued.
- Quarantine activities, such as laboratory analysis and certification of the animal or animal product for export is carried out prior to export, at your own expense.
- NAQS will issue a zoo sanitary or sanitary certificate for animal or animal products that are disease, pest, and contaminant-free before export.
- You can export your consignment.
Note: Live animals/animal products that are exported without a Sanitary certificate may be rejected or destroyed upon arrival at the importing country, and the exporter will be responsible for any expenses incurred. While your product undergoes checks at the point of export, you should note that there will be further compliance checks upon entry into the importing country.
Sanitary Certificate (Aquatic) is issued for the export of aquatic or seafood products, including fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. It confirms that the aquatic products have been inspected and found free from diseases and pathogens that could pose a risk to the aquatic health of the receiving country.
Institution/Systems:
Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS)
What do you get?
- NAQS Zoo-Sanitary Certificate {For Live Products e.g. fish and seafood}
- NAQS Sanitary Certificate {For Processed/Semi-Processed Products}
- Completed application form
- CAC Certificate of Incorporation
- Memorandum and Articles of Association (MEMAT) and Company Profile (CAC documents)
- Laboratory Test Analysis of exporting product/consignment
- Proof of registration as an exporter (NEPC Export Certificate)
- Evidence of NAQS Facility Inspection License
- Evidence of Catch certificate from Federal Department of Fisheries FDF (if products are industrial wild-caught from open sea using fishing trawlers i.e., not from Aquaculture source) – optional
Fees & Charges for NAQS Aquatic Export
- Approved fees schedule for export of Aquatic Products based on the categories of aquatic animals. (Insert link to Appendix 19 – Aquatic Export User Fees)
Timeline
- Forty-eight (48) hours upon fulfilment of all stated requirements.
Legal Justification
Recourse:
Name: SM Tanto (Insert image available in Appendix 18)
Contact Number: 07056893124
Email: contact@naqs.gov.ng; Senyamba.tanto@naqs.gov.ng
- Check the prohibited list to ensure that your export is not listed.
- Locate the nearest Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) office
- Write an application to the NAQS Aquatic Resources Quarantine (ARQ) Department informing them of your export consignment details and the departure date of your consignment. (Details include consignor, consignee, product, scientific name, total weight, batch number, quantity, HS code, mode of packaging, means of transportation, etc.)
- The NAQS inspection team will evaluate your processing plant/pond business premises and activities, and present a report. (Processing plant are to be inspected for HACCP compliance and production pond are to be inspected for Biosecurity compliance)
- Upon satisfactory inspection report, Export permit shall be issued after payment.
- Declare your aquatic product or consignment for inspection and certification by NAQS ate cargo terminal/loading port.
- NAQS officers will verify the documents and consignments, as well as the life aquatic or aquatic product’s status.
- If the product is deemed satisfactory and document is authenticated, it will be processed for export boarding/loading. Otherwise, it will be detained for further quarantine action.
- Validity of export permit is per each export consignment.
Note: Aquatic animals/products that are exported without a Zoo-Sanitary/Sanitary certificate may be rejected or destroyed upon arrival at the importing country, and the exporter will be responsible for any expenses incurred. While your product undergoes checks at the point of export, you should note that there will be further compliance checks upon entry into the importing country.