Dried and packaged food travels well to Nigeria and fills most barrels: garri, egusi, beans, spices, tinned goods and powdered milk. Frozen meat, poultry, eggs, retail-pack cooking oil, sugar and bottled drinks are prohibited imports. Seal everything in bags — leaks ruin barrels.
Food is the reason most barrels exist. Provisions that are expensive or hard to find in Nigeria, sent by families in the UK — it is the oldest traffic on this corridor. It is also the category with the most rules attached, so it is worth knowing which is which before you start filling a barrel.
What travels well
The rule is simple: dry, sealed and shelf-stable. Anything that would sit happily in a cupboard for a few months will make the journey.
- Staples — garri, semolina and poundo, beans, egusi and ogbono
- Dried protein — stockfish, dried fish, crayfish, ponmo
- Seasoning — stock cubes, dried pepper, curry, thyme, spice blends
- Tinned and packaged — tomatoes, sardines, custard, cereal, biscuits, noodles
- Drinks powder — Milo, powdered milk, tea, coffee
These are exactly the items in the "food staples" preset on our barrel planner, so you can see how much of a barrel a realistic food shop actually fills.
What you cannot send
Several ordinary supermarket items are on the Nigeria Customs prohibition list, and they catch people out precisely because they seem so harmless:
- Frozen poultry, pork and beef — prohibited outright, and unsuitable for sea cargo anyway
- Eggs — prohibited
- Refined vegetable oil — prohibited in commercial quantity, and a leak risk besides
- Sugar, fruit juice and bottled drinks in retail packs — all prohibited
- Rice — heavily restricted; a small personal quantity is a different proposition from a sack
Check anything you are unsure about with the items checker before it goes in the barrel — it takes a minute and it is considerably cheaper than losing the shipment.
Personal quantities versus commercial
The prohibition list and the NAFDAC registration rules are written for people importing food to sell. A family barrel is not that, and in practice it is treated differently. But "different in practice" is officer discretion rather than an entitlement, and quantity is what tips the balance. Twenty identical sacks reads as a business no matter whose name is on the barrel.
If you genuinely are sending stock for a shop or restaurant, say so when you book. Commercial food imports need NAFDAC registration, and we would rather set that up properly than have it discovered at the port.
Packing food so it survives
- Line the barrel with a bin liner. If anything leaks, it is contained.
- Bag every item separately, even sealed packets — packaging splits over weeks of movement.
- Double-bag powders. Garri, semolina and milk powder are the usual culprits when a barrel arrives coated.
- Keep food away from soap and detergent. Scent transfers, and nobody wants perfumed garri.
- Check the dates. Anything with less than a few months left will not survive a sea journey plus clearing.
The full order of packing is in our barrel packing guide.
Sea freight for food shipments runs from £2.80/kg, or from £120 per barrel. Ask us for a quote on what you are sending.
Common questions
Can I send food to Nigeria from the UK?
Yes — dried and packaged foods are the single most-shipped category on this route. Garri, egusi, beans, spices, tinned goods, custard, powdered milk and dried fish all travel routinely in personal quantities. What you cannot send is frozen meat, poultry, eggs, retail-pack cooking oil, sugar, bottled water and fruit juice.
What food is banned from Nigeria?
Frozen poultry, pork and beef, birds' eggs, refined vegetable oil, retail-pack sugar, fruit juice in retail packs, and bottled or aerated drinks are on the Nigeria Customs prohibition list. Rice is heavily restricted. Check any specific item with our items checker before packing it.
Can I send frozen or fresh food?
No. Frozen and perishable foods cannot travel by sea cargo, and frozen meat and poultry are prohibited imports regardless. Send the dried, tinned and packaged equivalents instead — that is what everyone on this route does.
Do I need a NAFDAC permit to send food?
Not for personal quantities among your household effects. NAFDAC registration applies to commercial food imports — if you are sending stock for a shop or restaurant, tell us in advance and we will explain what is required.
How should I pack food for the journey?
Seal everything in individual plastic bags even if it is already packaged, keep it dry, and use a bin liner inside the barrel. Weeks of movement splits packaging that seems perfectly solid in a kitchen cupboard, and one split bag of powder coats the whole barrel.
How long can food take to arrive?
By sea, typically 4–6 weeks door to door — so only send food with a shelf life comfortably beyond that. Air freight takes 7 working days if you need something to arrive quickly, though it costs considerably more per kilo.