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What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Food imported into Nigeria must be registered with NAFDAC before it can be imported or sold, and the application is made by a company incorporated in Nigeria acting for the Italian manufacturer under a notarised power of attorney. NAFDAC’s 2021 guideline also asks for a certificate of manufacture and free sale authenticated by a Nigerian mission, a Nigerian trademark, a certificate of analysis, a factory inspection and label vetting, and gives 120 working days for the process.
Italian pasta sauces, cheese, wine, olive oil, coffee and confectionery all have buyers in Nigeria. Before any of them can be shipped for sale, the product needs a NAFDAC registration number, and that process is built around a local applicant. An Italian producer cannot register directly; it works through a Nigerian company.
Check the prohibition list first
Some foods cannot be imported at all. The Nigeria Trade Information Portal’s prohibited items page lists, among others, refined vegetable oils (with exceptions such as olive oil), spaghetti and noodles, retail-pack fruit juice, cocoa butter, powder and cakes, retail-pack sugar, and water, soft drinks and beer. ThisDay reported on 19 April 2026 that a revised list dated 1 April 2026 was being enforced. Pasta is the obvious trap for an Italian exporter: check the HS code against the current list before spending money on registration.
Who applies: the Nigerian local representative
NAFDAC’s Guidelines for Registration of Imported Food Products (effective 1 March 2021) require the applicant to be a company incorporated in Nigeria, with evidence of CAC incorporation. The Italian manufacturer gives that company a power of attorney or a contract manufacturing agreement. NAFDAC’s guideline for imported cosmetics, which uses the same model, asks for the power of attorney to be notarised in the country of manufacture, valid for at least five years, signed by a senior officer and stating who owns the brand. The local representative also hosts the factory inspection request.
Documents from Italy
- Power of attorney to the Nigerian applicant, notarised in Italy.
- Certificate of manufacture and free sale from the Italian authority, authenticated by the Nigerian mission. Our guide on legalising Italian documents for Nigeria covers the Italian side.
- Certificate of analysis for the batch submitted.
- Trademark registration in Nigeria for the brand.
- Labels for vetting before samples are sent.
The steps and the clock
- Nigerian applicant opens the file on NAFDAC’s online portal with the documents.
- NAFDAC vets the label.
- An import permit is issued for samples, which are sent with certificates of analysis.
- NAFDAC inspects the Italian factory for good manufacturing practice, on an invitation letter naming the local agent.
- Laboratory analysis and committee approval.
- Registration certificate, valid for five years.
The guideline gives 120 working days, with the clock stopping while NAFDAC waits for answers to its queries; queries must be closed within 90 working days. It says unregistered food may not be imported. Fees are not set out in the guideline; Prime Business Africa reported in January 2024 that NAFDAC had cut renewal fees for foreign products by 45% to $450. Ask the local representative for NAFDAC’s current tariff.
Labels Nigeria expects
NAFDAC’s Pre-Packaged Food, Water and Ice (Labelling) Regulations 2019 require, among other things:
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Name of food | On the principal display panel, in bold |
| Ingredients | Headed “Ingredients”, in descending order by weight |
| Allergens | Always declared, including gluten cereals, eggs, fish, peanuts, soy, milk, tree nuts and sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more |
| Net content | SI units, on the principal display panel |
| Manufacturer and origin | Name and address; country of origin |
| Batch and dates | Batch number; date of manufacture; best before or expiry, written in day/month/year or month/day/year form |
An Italian label will need adapting: English is used in Nigeria, and Italian-only labels will not pass vetting. Print the date of manufacture, which EU labels often omit.
Choosing the local representative
Because the Nigerian applicant holds the registration in practice, the choice matters. It handles NAFDAC correspondence, receives the queries that stop the clock, and organises the factory inspection. Ask for its CAC certificate and experience with imported food files, agree in writing who owns the registration and what happens if you end the relationship, and keep the power of attorney limited to registration and related steps. If you later appoint a distributor, the registration holder and the distributor can be different companies, but the contract should say so.
A worked example
Example only: a Parma producer wants to register two sauces. It confirms the HS codes are not on the prohibition list, appoints a Lagos company under a notarised power of attorney, has its free sale certificate authenticated, registers the brand in Nigeria and sends labels for vetting. If NAFDAC raises two queries that take 30 working days to answer, the clock stops for those days, so a 120-working-day process takes about 150 working days in all.
After registration
Each shipment still needs the buyer’s Form M, which a bank will not process for regulated food without NAFDAC registration. See Form M and PAAR and how Nigerian buyers pay.
Where Pryme fits
Registration means paying a Nigerian representative, laboratory and agency costs in naira over several months. A Pryme Business Account holds naira beside euros, so those payments can be made from Italy without converting each time, with every rate and fee shown first. Outside Nigeria, Pryme relies on regulated partners. The Ledger’s imported product registration checklist sets out the Nigerian applicant’s side.
Questions people ask
Can an Italian company register food with NAFDAC directly?
No. NAFDAC’s imported food guideline requires a company incorporated in Nigeria to apply, under a power of attorney or contract manufacturing agreement from the manufacturer.
How long does NAFDAC registration take for imported food?
The 2021 guideline gives 120 working days, with the clock stopped while queries are open.
How long is a NAFDAC registration valid?
Five years under the guideline.
Can I export Italian pasta to Nigeria?
Spaghetti and noodles are on Nigeria’s import prohibition list as shown on the Trade Information Portal. Check the HS code against the current list first.
Sources
- NAFDAC: Guidelines for Registration of Imported Food Products in Nigeria (effective 1 Mar 2021, PDF) · accessed Oct 2026
- NAFDAC: Guidelines for Registration of Imported Cosmetics in Nigeria (PDF) · accessed Oct 2026
- NAFDAC: Pre-Packaged Food, Water and Ice (Labelling) Regulations 2019 (via PolicyVault, PDF) · accessed Oct 2026
- Nigeria Trade Information Portal: Prohibited items · accessed Oct 2026
- ThisDay: FG bans importation of paracetamol, other medicines, frozen poultry, cement, detergents, refined vegetable oils (19 Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Prime Business Africa: NAFDAC slashes renewal fees by 65% for MSMEs (2 Jan 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.