By Ayomide Otitoju
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) has announced a new partnership with RwandAir to expand the Nigeria–East and Southern Africa Air Cargo Corridor, aimed at improving the speed and affordability of Nigerian exports to regional markets.
The ministry said the initiative builds on the corridor launched on Africa Day 2025 in partnership with Uganda Airlines, which offered Nigerian exporters discounted cargo rates of up to 70 per cent on shipments to Entebbe, Nairobi, and Johannesburg.
According to FMITI, the expanded arrangement under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework will now include Kigali, Harare, and Lusaka as additional destinations, while also providing exporters with an alternative carrier on the Nairobi and Johannesburg routes.
The ministry disclosed that cargo rates on the RwandAir routes have been set at below $2 per kilogram across the five destinations, with the formal launch of the partnership scheduled for June 2026.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the expansion reflects ongoing efforts to make AfCFTA work in practice for Nigerian businesses by reducing the high cost of logistics that has limited export competitiveness.
She noted that before the initiative, exporters faced shipping costs ranging between $3 and $10 per kilogram, a situation that significantly constrained trade with East and Southern African markets.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s non-oil exports to African countries increased from $150 million in 2024 to $207 million in 2025, attributing the growth to improved trade facilitation measures under the corridor initiative.
Oduwole said the partnership with RwandAir would further widen access to African markets, enabling more Nigerian businesses to compete effectively while strengthening regional trade integration.
