Nigeria and Sierra Leone
What moves each way, the scams to watch for, and what to check before you trade.
Trade safely with Sierra Leone
The scams, documents and rules that matter on this corridor. Written and reviewed by our team, and dated.
Corridor-specific scam patterns and rules are still being reviewed by our team and will appear here once published.
- Confirm the company exists in an official register and that its name matches the one on the invoice.
- Before paying into a new or changed bank account, phone the company on a number you already hold, not one from the invoice or email.
- Test the container number, ship number, ports and dates on the bill of lading with the Document checker.
- Be wary of paying in advance for goods you have not seen, or of fees demanded to release a shipment.
- Ask the carrier directly to confirm the shipment exists and where it is.
In 2025, Nigeria sold Sierra Leone about $3.2 million of goods. The biggest products were soups and broths and preparations therefor, chocolate and other food preparations and stoves, ranges, grates, cookers, which together make up 52% of the total. The total has grown by about 25% a year since 2022. Among the leading products, medicaments is growing fastest, at about 80% a year.
In 2025, Nigeria bought about $2.1 million of goods from Sierra Leone. The biggest products were industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids, plywood, veneered panels and retreaded or used pneumatic tyres of rubber, which together make up 98% of the total. More than half of this trade is one product (industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids), so it leans heavily on that one line. The total has fallen by about 6.2% a year since 2022.
Trade by year
Total trade each year, as reported in the tables below. A missing bar means no report for that year, not zero trade.
View as a table
| Year | Nigeria sells to Sierra Leone | Nigeria buys from Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $1.6m | $2.6m |
| 2023 | $5.5m | $1.1m |
| 2024 | $3m | $2.1m |
| 2025 | $3.2m | $2.1m |
What Nigeria sells to Sierra Leone
Ranked by value in 2025, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soups and broths and preparations therefor (homogenised composite food preparations) Product code 2104 · Miscellaneous food preparations | $705k | 22.0% | n/a |
| Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa Product code 1806 · Cocoa | $532k | 16.6% | n/a |
| Stoves, ranges, grates, cookers (those with subsidiary boilers for central heating), barbecues, braziers, gas-… Product code 7321 · Iron and steel articles | $424k | 13.2% | n/a |
Biggest product groups: Miscellaneous food preparations (28%), Cocoa (17%), Iron and steel articles (13%), Cereal and baked goods (13%), Fertilisers (6%) .
What Nigeria buys from Sierra Leone
Ranked by value in 2025, by 4-digit product code. Growth is the yearly rate since 2022.
| Product | Value | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids (acid oils from refining, industrial fatty alcohols) Product code 3823 · Miscellaneous chemicals | $1.6m | 72.9% | -11.2% a year |
| Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood Product code 4412 · Wood | $509k | 23.7% | n/a |
| Retreaded or used pneumatic tyres of rubber (solid or cushion tyres, tyre treads and tyre flaps, of rubber) Product code 4012 · Rubber | $27k | 1.3% | n/a |
Biggest product groups: Miscellaneous chemicals (73%), Wood (24%), Rubber (2%), Iron and steel articles (1%), Machinery (0%) .
Where the opportunities are
Products that are moving on this corridor. Only products of a meaningful size are listed. Treat these as leads to check, not promises: a fast rise can reverse.
A free account shows the complete product lists, every fast-growing and new product, and the markets where this corridor supplies little. Accounts are checked by hand, so use your business email.
Create a free account Sign inHow to read these figures
Value is what was traded in the year, in US dollars. A big number means a big market, not necessarily an easy one to enter.
Share is that product's part of the total in the table above. A product with a large share is what this corridor already trades most of.
Growth is the average yearly change since the first year shown. A green figure means trade in that product is rising.
Product code is the international customs code (HS) for the product group. Your customs agent and the guide below will ask for it, and it decides the duty you pay.
These are totals reported by customs authorities, not prices or orders. Use them to see where demand exists, then check the rules and the company you plan to deal with.
Next steps
Trade figures are what each country reported to the UN (Comtrade), in US dollars. Imports are usually reported including freight and insurance, exports without, so the two sides of a corridor will not match exactly. Company counts are companies listed on ExporterIQ.