French shipping giant CMA CGM has added a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) on cargo headed for Nigeria and other West African ports that could see importers pay up to one million naira in additional charges.
In an official statement, the French company announced that starting September 15, 2025, importers will pay an additional $500 per 20-foot container for dry and reefer cargo from North East Asia, South East Asia, China, Hong Kong and Macau SAR “until further notice.”
The company gave little reason for the decision except labelling it a “continued effort to provide our customers with reliable and efficient services.”
Surcharges are supposed to be temporary measures by shipping lines involved in the shipment of goods worldwide to address peculiar challenges of shipping at destination and are subject to removal when the situation normalises, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The $500 per TEU PSS from CMA CGM is layered on top of fees that go into the freight invoice including the freight rate, Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) which covers fuel price fluctuations and the Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) which accounts for exchange rate volatility.
Nigerian importers also pay port charges for handling, storage, and customs at origin and destination and war risk premiums, which the country is currently pushing for an end to.
Documentation and handling fees including Bill of Lading and terminal handling charges, are also included.
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The Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) informed BusinessDay that it will take up the matter with the shipping company for a possible resolution.
“There are two ways to address this suncharge issue. Either for them to finally drop the suncharge, looking at some economic indices and parameters, or we ask for a reduction,” said Celestine Akujobi, director of consumer affairs at the NSC.
“But surcharge is something that is practical in the industry,” he added.
Akujobi reckoned that the $500 bill per container was added due to rising cargo volumes. “It happens when the volume increases and there is no capacity, in terms of no vessel capacity, or even no container capacity, on certain trade routes.”
It won’t be the first time CMA CGM will impose surcharges on imports into the West African region.
In February 2020, the company announced a PSS of $1500 for cargo originating from the United States, including a General Rate Restoration (GRR) of $500 per 20-foot and $1,000 per 40-foot container of dry, reefer, OOG and break-bulk cargoes from Asia including China, South Korea and Taiwan.
Shippers Council said that the PSS was eventually dropped after it escalated the matter to the regional level through the Union of African Shippers Council and the Global Shippers Forum.
Meanwhile, a cargo clearing agent who spoke with BusinessDay said the timing could not be worse, as importers already battle multiple costs and are seeking relief. The heat has already pushed many out of the business of importation
“Because of one policy somersault after another, and increment of charges, some couldn’t cope at all,” said Sulaiman Ayokunle, a clearing agent, and spokesperson to the president of Association Of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
According to him, CMA CGM should be careful not to scare away importers towards its competitors.
“If anybody is taking advantage of high demand, they should remember they have more competitors that are springing up,” said Sulaiman Ayokunle, a clearing agent, and spokesperson to the president of ANLCA.
Nigeria, without a national carrier, largely patronises foreign shipping companies like Maersk, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd. Customs agents say these companies’ investment in automated services could sway customers seeking value for their money.
