Nigeria eyes $125m export revenue through UK DCTS, aviation reforms

​Nigeria could capture between $25 million and $125 million in additional annual revenue by capitalising on a marginal increase in exports to the United Kingdom, according to the country’s aviation authority.

Lekan Thomas, director of cargo development and services at the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), representing Olubunmi Kuku, the managing director, during an address at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) April breakfast meeting, said that while the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) launched in 2023 opened the door for over 3,000 Nigerian products to enter duty-free, a “structural paradox” currently prevents Nigeria from reaping the full rewards.

“The UK has opened its market,” Thomas said, “The question is whether Nigeria is ready to sell, consistently, competitively, and at scale.”

He said that every night, cargo aircraft depart from London Heathrow, Amsterdam, and Dubai to Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, offload machinery, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods worth billions, then they depart back to Europe half-empty. According to FAAN, Nigeria must quickly grab the low-hanging fruits that could stop the costly cycle and help its exports be internationally competitive.

Low-hanging fruits

The most immediate gains, he said, lie in perishables. The UK imports large volumes of fresh produce by air from Africa, supported by expanding cold chain infrastructure at major hubs such as London Heathrow, where Swissport recently opened a 2,694-square-metre temperature-controlled facility.

Nigerian exports, ranging from ginger and vegetables to fruits, could compete in that space, but only if they meet strict quality, certification and timing requirements. He said Nigeria must move from “predatory agents” to “value-adding aggregators” who can provide unbroken cold chains and certifications that UK buyers require.

Pharmaceutical logistics present another opening. Nigeria’s growing local manufacturing base could serve UK demand, particularly for time-sensitive medical products, though this depends heavily on certified handling systems and uninterrupted cold chains areas where gaps remain.

Thomas noted that cargo village expansions in Lagos and Abuja, dedicated facilities for testing and handling, and apron upgrades for wide-body freighters are now being built.

E-commerce emerges as a third frontier. According to Thomas, with rising digital trade and cross-border retail, UK-based platforms are increasingly looking for reliable supply routes into and out of African markets.

He said Lagos is already evolving into a redistribution hub, but warned that inconsistent cargo processing times and ambigous systems risk limiting Nigeria’s participation and competitiveness.

He described a “missing middle” between production and exports where smallholder farmers and manufacturers lack the scale, certification and logistics coordination required by international buyers, creating a supply bottleneck long before goods reach the airport.

Read also: Federal constraints choke states’ N128bn export spend

FAAN’s interventions

To address this, FAAN is banking on private-sector-led aggregation centres to consolidate output, standardise quality and ensure traceability. These facilities, combined with upgraded cargo terminals and digital processing systems, are expected to form the backbone of a more competitive export pipeline.

“This cannot be government,” he said. “The solution is Public-Private Partnership, experienced logistics firms, cold chain specialists with capital, technical expertise, market intelligence, and compliance systems.”

The authority also said it is pushing reforms at the airport level which inlcudes cargo infrastructure. It promised upgrades to warehouses in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, alongside new cargo villages and the revival of the domestic cargo terminal in Lagos.

The agency is also pursuing PPP-backed projects, apron expansion for wide-body freighters and stronger links between airports, agro clusters and economic zones to create a seamless export pipeline.

On the systems side, FAAN said it is rolling out a cargo community platform tied to the National Single Window, a digital platform designed to unify trade documentation and enable pre-clearance that went live March 27. Thomas described it as essential to reducing delays and improving reliability, particularly for time-sensitive goods destined for markets like the UK.

He urged the NBCC to write to the presidency, the office of the chief and the federal ministry of industry, trade and investment, demanding a firm implementation timeline for the NSW.

He also said the Chamber should make the NSW compliance a condition for members’ access to trade facilitation services. “If an exporter or agent is not using the digital platform, they should not receive preferential treatment, he said.

The NSW Secretariat said the portal will open for export processing in the second phase between the second and third quarters.

Despite the scale of the opportunity, he cautioned that preferential access alone will not rebalance trade, without improvements in logistics, certification and coordination.

“As a chamber, we recognise that to truly ‘enhance’ these corridors, we must address the infrastructure of connectivity and the fluidity of investment mobility,” said Abimbola Olashore, president of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC). “We are here to move beyond dialogue and toward actionable frameworks that strengthen the bridge between Nigerian enterprise and British markets.”

The UK remains Nigeria’s largest source of capital inflows with $2.94 billion in Q3 2025 alone, nearly 49 percent of all capital imported.

UK-Nigeria trade stood at £8.1 billion in the four quarters to Q3 2025, up 11.4 percent year-on-year. Yet UK imports from Nigeria, the export side, sat at £2.4 billion.