If you are into exporting agriculture products in Nigeria, you will NAQS certificate otherwise known as Phytosanitary Certificate
What is NAQS?
NAQS means Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service. It is an agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which also issues the Phytosanitary Certificate.
Core Mandate of NAQS
NAQS is directly responsible for assessing, approving or rejecting the unprocessed agricultural commodities leaving or coming into Nigeria. Its core mandate is to conduct quarantine service, inspect and certify agricultural produce
Your commodity has to be inspected and certified to ensure that it meets world standards. If it fails the standard test, your commodity would be rejected.
So…
What is Phytosanitary Certificate?
A phytosanitary certificate is an important document required by an exporter (and importer) of animal products, aquatic resources, and plant or unprocessed agricultural products to ensure that they are in conformity with export parameters.
There are different government agencies that issue Phytosanitary certificates around the world, in Nigeria, the certificate is issued by the NAQS. The licence isn’t limited to Nigeria. It’s a global certification
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), importing country doesn’t need “phytosanitary certificates for plant products that have been processed in such a way that they have no potential for introducing regulated pests”
The certification must be authorized by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO). NAQS is in charge of this in Nigeria.
How To Apply for NAQS Certificate in Nigeria
1) Head straight to the NAQS Portal using this Registration Link at: naqsportal.net/New-user-registration
2) Fill out the online form including the name of the contact person. Kindly use the zonal office contact details below to get the name of your contact person.
3) Enter your NEPC number. (NEPC means Nigerian Export Promotion Council)
4) Enter the CAPTCHA displayed on your screen correctly and hit the “Register” button
5) Check your inbox to activate your account registration
Note: If you can find the activation link n your inbox, check your SPAM folder
6) The login to get your NAQS number and the phone number of your contact person.
Components Of The Phytosanitary Certificate
The phytosanitary certificate contains the following vital information of consignment and it’s expected that it’s carefully filled by an official NAQS (if the commodity is being exported from Nigeria) Other countries have their agency
- Number (certificate number which can be verified)
- Plant Protection Organization of (issuing country)
- TO: Plant Protection Organization(s) of (name of importing country)
- Name and address of exporter (name of the exporter or company name)
- Declared name and address of consignee (details of the recipient of the exported commodity)
- Number and description of packages (container number, description of commodity and other required details)
- Distinguishing marks (distinguishing marks are important to ease the process of identifying the consignment)
- Place of origin (this means where the consignment gains its phytosanitary status)
- Declared means of conveyance (this means the means of transit. Is it by air, sea, rail? etc)
- Declared point of entry
- Name of produce and quantity declared (description of the commodity which should include commodity class like fruit, plants for planting )
- The botanical name of plants (use the appropriate scientific names, consult your contact person if you’re exporting from Nigeria to confirm the botanical name of plants)
Certifying statement
This is to certify that the plants, plant products or other regulated articles described herein have been inspected and/or tested according to appropriate official procedures and are considered to be free from the quarantine pests specified by the importing contracting party and to conform with the current phytosanitary requirements of the importing contracting party, including those for regulated non-quarantine pests.
Append your signature if a space is provided on the page
Can a phytosanitary certificate be rejected?
Yes, a phytosanitary certificate may be rejected for any of these reasons:
1) if it’s not readable
2) if it contains conflicting information
3) if it contains inconsistent information
4) if it contains prohibited products for instance some fraudulent exporter may include prohibited product after certification.
If you smartly pass the exporting country, you’re most likely going not to be lucky at the importing country. Your product will be flagged and rejected by the importing country for violation. This act may put a country on the watchlist of the importing country
5) if the information is incomplete, the phytosanitary certificate will be rejected
6) if issuing agency from the exporting country doesn’t comply with the period of validity or it expired
the phytosanitary certificate may be flagged as invalid if it contains deceptive alterations or erasures
7) if it contains wording that is inconsistent with the model. This is very important. The right words and terminology must be used.
8) if copies are not certified by the appropriate agency from the exporting country
Going by the above information, a phytosanitary certificate may be flagged as fake if it isn’t issued by the NPPO or it contains unverifiable and misleading information. If this happens, it may put exporting countries on the watch list or be banned for repeated cases.
Requirements for registration
- Valid email address
- Name of contact person
- Acceptable and valid proof of Identification
- Export certificate
- Certificate of Incorporation (here is company registration requirements in Nigeria)
- NEPC number
NAQS Offices in Nigeria
Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service has zonal offices spread across the six geopolitical zones while its headquarters remain in Abuja.
|
Zonal offices |
Address |
Phone Number |
|
South-South |
5th Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex, |
|
|
North-West |
Airport Road, Before Air-force Base |
08073815864 |
|
South-East |
2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat, independence Layrout |
08033323526, 08056698645 |
|
South-West |
Opposite MMI Airport 2, |
08037878857, 08033752130 |
|
North Central |
NAQS Interstate Control Post |
08033445551 |
|
Post-Entry |
Moor Plantation P.M.B. 5672 |
08033005529 |
|
North-East |
Behind Airport Police Post |
08034415206 |
|
Headquarters |
Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Plot 81 Ralph Sodeinde Street, Enugu State Building, Opposite Federal Ministry of Finance, Central Business District, Abuja, Nigeria. |
08077778943; 08091333385 Official website: www.naqs.gov.ng |
In case you don’t know where your state of residence belongs, check our complete list of geopolitical zones in Nigeria and where the states belong.
Note: At the time of compiling this report, the head of Export/Phytocertifcation Unit of NAQS in Lagos (south-west zone) is Mr Idachaba E
Phone number: 2348037103205 and 08052108236
While…
Mr Sunday Ikani is the Zonal Coordinator
Phone number: 08037878857
Your Questions
In this section, we provide answers to some of the questions you might want to ask.
-
Who is the Director-General of NAQS?
The agency is headed by Dr. Vincent Isegbe
-
What should I avoid so that my agric product isn’t rejected?
To ensure that your export reaches its destination, be professional, and avoid prohibited items. There are instances of Nigerian exporters including the bark of trees in their export, avoiding this illicit act.
Don’t try to insert prohibited items into already certified products, if you’re caught, it will nullify the entire product.
The point is don’t conceal something in a certified product to avoid destroying the quality and certification for the product.
-
What’s the cost of quarantine service by NAQS?
According to DG of NAQS Dr Vincent Isegbe, the quarantine service charge is between NGN1,500 and NGN5,000. However, it may be more than this. You may spend as much as NGN10,000
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How do I obtain Phytosanitary Certificate in Nigeria?
You first have to create an account on the official portal of NAQS by registering via naqsportal.net . Creation of NAQS account is free.
-
What are the registration requirements?
The requirements are an incorporated company name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), valid e-mail address, NEPC Number, and a service provider
-
Who is a NAQS service provider?
A service provider is a NAQS-accredited expert who specialises in quarantine activities of agricultural produce.
He’s in charge of treating your agricultural commodity to ensure it’s pest-free and it meets the standards of the country of destination. -
How do I get a service provider?
After setting up and activating your NAQS account, login select from the list of zonal offices as provided above, the name of a service provider covering that zone will pop up, that’s your service provider, get his phone number and contact address. He’ll guide you.
-
How do I get NAQS registration number?
When you log in and choose the location of your commodity and click “continue” your NAQS registration number will be displayed, this is what your service provider needs to process your application.
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How will I know if my Phytosanitary certificate is ready for collection?
You will be contacted via your e-mail address. In case it’s taking longer than expected you can follow up with your service provider, he may collect it for you.
-
Is it possible to change my service provider?
You can’t unless you’re relocating to another geopolitical zone. For instance, if you change from South-South to South-West, then you can change your service provider.
One of the roles of your service provider is to provide the botanical name of the exporting commodity in case you don’t know it.
Recap:
Getting a Phytosanitary Certificate from the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) is easy and simple than you thought.
1) First register as an incorporated company with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to get a company registration certificate
2) Apply on the official portal of the Nigeria Exporter Promotion Council (NEPC) to get an export licence and NEPC number
3) You’re now set to begin exporting agricultural products that are not on the prohibited lists, as such go to NAQS export portal to register
4) Submit your application
5) Follow up with your contact person to get Phytosanitary Certificate.
6) And start exporting!
NAQS is Nigeria’s agricultural quarantine agency
That’s all!
Further Reading:
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). “Requirements For Phytosanitary Certificates”. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
