Ordering from China to Kaduna, Jos and Maiduguri
On this page
- The timeline
- Why dispatch day matters more up here
- Addressing in the north
- The climate, which actually matters here
- What tends to move
- The ordering habit that fixes most of this
- The cold season market, sized
- Jos, which is its own market
- Getting the address right, which matters more here
- The dust discipline
- Questions people ask
The further from Lagos you are, the more your ordering habits matter, because the part of the journey that varies is the inland leg and the way to absorb it is to start earlier.
None of this is difficult. It is just a longer road and fewer trucks on it.
The timeline
Two to four weeks from payment to the Lagos hub, then:
| Destination | Typical inland leg |
|---|---|
| Kaduna | 2 days |
| Jos | 2 to 3 days |
| Bauchi, Gombe | 3 days |
| Maiduguri, Yola | 3 to 4 days |
| Sokoto, Katsina, Birnin Kebbi | 3 to 4 days |
These are working estimates for a normal week. The national picture.
Why dispatch day matters more up here
In Lagos, couriers run constantly. To Maiduguri they run on a schedule.
The practical effect is that missing a dispatch window costs more than a few hours. A shipment that clears on Friday afternoon might not move north until Monday, and a Monday departure arriving Thursday is functionally a week from Friday.
Nothing you can do about it directly, but it is worth knowing when you are estimating for a customer, because it explains why two orders cleared a day apart can arrive four days apart.
Addressing in the north
Kaduna, Jos and Bauchi have recognisable layouts in their newer areas and are navigated by landmark and ward in the older ones. Maiduguri, Sokoto and Katsina lean heavily on area, ward and landmark.
The most useful things you can include: the area or ward, a landmark a stranger would recognise, and a phone number that will actually be answered. If the delivery is to a shop in a market, name the market and the shop. More on this.
A failed delivery in Lagos costs a day. A failed delivery in Maiduguri can cost several, because rescheduling depends on the next run.
The climate, which actually matters here
Sellers who source with Lagos in mind consistently get northern demand wrong, and the gap is significant.
Harmattan is cold
Between roughly November and February, night temperatures across Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Maiduguri drop meaningfully. Not Lagos harmattan, where a light shirt is fine. Genuinely cold enough for jackets, sweaters, thicker socks and blankets.
There is a real market for warm layers in northern Nigeria for a quarter of the year and it is under-supplied relative to demand. Order in September for a season that starts in November. The harmattan window.
Jos is cool most of the year
Jos sits at altitude on the Plateau and is noticeably cooler than the rest of the country year round. Light layers sell there in months when nobody in Lagos would consider them.
This is a genuinely distinct market and almost nobody stocks for it deliberately.
Dust
Harmattan dust penetrates unsealed storage completely. Keep stock bagged through the season, particularly light-coloured textiles, and check zips, hinges and anything mechanical before goods go to a customer. Fine grit in a zip is a complaint that arrives long after a perfectly good import.
Dryness
The flip side of the humidity problems in the south. Skin and lip care sell strongly through harmattan, and leather goods can dry and crack in prolonged storage rather than growing mould.
What tends to move
- Warm layers, November to February. The most under-supplied northern category.
- Modest fashion in longer cuts. Chinese suppliers produce enormous quantities of it for other markets and it suits northern preferences directly.
- Sallah goods. Both Eids, with children’s clothing, accessories and gifts moving hardest. Planning around the date.
- Tailoring trims and hardware. Dense, cheap, and imported far less deeply than fabric.
- Skin and lip care through harmattan. Regulated category, so check requirements before ordering. What NAFDAC covers.
- School goods. Large catchments and predictable windows. The calendar.
The ordering habit that fixes most of this
Order two weeks earlier than a Lagos seller would for the same selling window. That is the whole adjustment.
It absorbs the inland leg, the dispatch schedule, and the occasional failed delivery, and it costs nothing except placing the order sooner.
| Selling window | Lagos order date | Northern order date |
|---|---|---|
| December | Early October | Mid September |
| Harmattan layers | Not a Lagos category | September |
| Sallah | 8 weeks before | 10 weeks before |
| School resumption | 6 weeks before | 8 weeks before |
The cold season market, sized
The single largest opportunity in northern Nigeria for anyone importing, and the one southern sellers consistently skip.
What actually sells between November and February, in rough order of volume:
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| Light jackets and bombers | Mid-weight. Heavy padded coats are too warm even at the coldest |
| Sweaters and cardigans | Layering rather than winter weight |
| Hoodies and sweatshirts | Youth market, sells beyond the season |
| Scarves and shawls | Doubles as dust protection, which extends the use |
| Thicker socks | Cheap, dense, easy volume |
| Blankets and throws | Bulky, so buy compressible and vacuum pack |
| Beanies and caps | Tiny, high margin |
| Lip balm and moisturiser | Regulated. Sell the accessories side instead |
| Closed shoes and boots | Replaces sandals for a quarter of the year |
The specification note that matters: buy mid-weight rather than heavy. Chinese winter production runs to weights designed for actual winter, which is unwearable here even in January, and it packs terribly. Ask for the gsm and stay in the middle of the range. The full harmattan window.
Jos, which is its own market
Worth separating because it is genuinely different from the rest of the country.
The Plateau sits at altitude and is noticeably cooler year round, not only during harmattan. Evenings are cool in months when Lagos is at its hottest.
That creates a market for light layers with a selling window several times longer than anywhere else in Nigeria. Almost nobody stocks for it deliberately, because national sourcing decisions are made for the coastal climate.
For a seller based there, or selling into it, this is a defensible position: a product nobody else is bringing in, for a customer base that genuinely needs it.
Getting the address right, which matters more here
Because a failed delivery costs days rather than hours once you are past Kaduna.
Give the ward or quarter. Northern cities are navigated by ward more than by street in the older areas.
Give a landmark that is genuinely well known. A mosque, a school, a market gate, a filling station, an emir’s palace. Not a small shop.
For market deliveries, give the market, the line and the shop. Couriers navigate by exactly that.
Give a phone that will be answered, and answer unknown numbers while a delivery is expected.
Say if the address is outside the metropolis. It changes the routing and the timing, and knowing in advance is better than a failed attempt. The full address guidance.
The dust discipline
Four habits that prevent a category of complaint that arrives months after a perfect import.
- Bag everything through harmattan, particularly pale textiles.
- Cover open stock. Racks and open shelves collect a visible layer within days.
- Check every zip, clasp and mechanism before dispatch. Fine grit stops a zip running smoothly and the customer blames the product.
- Wipe hard goods before they go out.
The compensation is that dryness is kinder to leather and PU than the southern wet season. Mould is not your problem here. Dust and cracking are, and both are managed by covering stock and by not storing goods for a year.
Questions people ask
How long does delivery from China to Kaduna take?
Typically two to four weeks from payment to the Lagos hub, plus roughly two days on the road north.
How long to Maiduguri or Sokoto?
Usually three to four days for the inland leg on top of the national window, and dispatch schedules matter, so missing a run can add several days rather than a few hours.
Is it really cold in northern Nigeria?
During harmattan, yes. Night temperatures across the north drop noticeably from November to February, and Jos is cool at altitude for much of the year. The market for warm layers is real and under-supplied.
Does harmattan dust affect stored goods?
It gets into anything not sealed. Bag textiles through the season and check zips, hinges and mechanisms before goods go to customers.
How should I write a northern delivery address?
Area or ward, a recognisable landmark, and a phone number that will be answered. For market deliveries, the market name and shop number works best.
How much earlier should northern sellers order?
About two weeks earlier than a Lagos seller for the same selling window. That absorbs the inland leg, the dispatch schedule and the occasional redelivery.
