Nigeria's $8B air cargo market grows amid e-commerce boom, faces delays
African airlines increased air cargo capacity by 14% year-on-year in August 2026, significantly outpacing the 3% demand growth, according to IATA data. Nigeria's air freight market exceeds $8 billion, driven by e-commerce expansion, SME cross-border trade, and diaspora exports, with Lagos as the primary cargo hub and Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano serving as major domestic gateways. However, airport processing delays, high handling charges, limited technology integration across regulatory agencies, and last-mile delivery challenges constrain market growth. Aramex Nigeria's Managing Director Faisal Jarmakani estimates greater digitization of airport operations, lower logistics costs, and improved warehousing infrastructure could help Nigeria capture more opportunities from Africa's rising air cargo. Globally, air cargo demand rose 4.4% despite higher fuel costs, but Africa's capacity surge highlights a regional imbalance where supply grows faster than demand. For Nigerian businesses, policymakers, and logistics stakeholders, this signals both opportunity in expanding trade lanes and urgency to address infrastructure bottlenecks to fully benefit from the e-commerce and SME trade boom.