Export Market Guide - Nigeria

All regulatory information for exporting wine to Nigeria, including the regulatory environment, duties and taxes, and permitted additives.

Nigeria is an extremely small export market for Australian wine.

Nigeria achieved independence from British control in 1960. Lagos is Africa’s largest city with approximately 15 million inhabitants. Nigeria is an English-speaking country but has many regional dialects. 

Nigeria is the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which formed a common tariff zone on 1 January 2015 following 10 years of negotiation. Nigeria is also a member of the British Commonwealth.

Nigeria’s fast developing economy has seen an emergence of a business class while the middle class continues to expand. It has an abundance of natural resources and an increasingly educated population making it one of the most attractive markets in Africa. 

Decanter reports that Nigeria’s wine market is booming but is being stifled by crippling import duties and complex bureaucracy. Taxes and tariffs add up to 90 per cent to the cost of wine. In 2022 to 2023, still wine imports from most countries fell heavily, particularly from biggest country of origin Spain followed by South Africa, but exports from Italy, Australia and Bulgaria increased. 

Nigeria’s favourable demographics include increasing disposable incomes and a growing young and urban population. Nigerians are well connected and technologically advanced with high levels of smart phone ownership and internet access. Alcohol is an increasingly important part of these tokens of affluence. The capital city, Lagos, is the major market for alcoholic drinks in Nigeria where there has been an increase in on-trade establishments. Other key metropolitan areas include Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Onitsha and Port Harcourt. Some states in the north of the country operate Sharia law where it is not possible to sell alcohol.

Red wine accounts for over 70 per cent of the wine market with sales of low-priced wines the key driver. Rosé and white wines are the next most popular styles although off a much smaller base. A local distributor is essential in Nigeria to negotiate the complex registration that all imported food products must undergo prior to import.