How to Export African Products to Willing Buyers In The USA Within 90 Days

As the world recovers fully from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that sickened the lives of millions of people in the world and staggered development and economic gains, export opportunities now abound to increase livelihood and sustain economies.

The Executive Director of the?USAfrica Business HUB,?Gbenga Omotayo, while speaking at the recently held USAfrica Business Expo workshop, shed light on the export opportunities for businesses in Africa looking to export to the USA.??

In his presentation, he highlighted the process of selling in-demand African products on e-commerce sites and in stores around the U.S leveraging the Border Smart System.

How to Export African Products to Willing Buyers In The USA Within 90 Days

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Export business is now seen in Africa as a golden opportunity for businesses as African governments currently support exportation to enhance their foreign exchange earnings.

There has been an increased demand for organic food and healthy options, which Africans have a stronghold on, coupled with the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and the disruption of China’s Supply route.

This development has validated the fact that opportunities are available for Africans to tap into the export market. A case in point is Nigeria’s ratification of the AfCFTA in 2020, effective January 1, 2021.?

Hopes were high that the country would take advantage of the removal of up to 90% of tariff under the agreement to access the 1.3bn African market, increase exports and reduce its trade deficit.

However, trade analysts have maintained that the trade agreement is a zero-sum game that creates winners and losers. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released data showing Nigeria’s export to Africa reducing by 25% between H1 2020 and H1 2021.

This has raised posers about how well prepared and positioned Nigeria is to take advantage of the Free trade agreement.

To explore the opportunities and export your ready products to the USA in 90 days, there are some key areas that must be looked into to help your export/import business succeed.

Identify Markets to Sell To (Location & User)

Before you can sell and export your products, you need to find people to buy them. Maybe you are already receiving inquiries from certain potential customers in certain countries. Maybe you’ve self-identified logical new markets for your goods. In either case, you need to spend time learning about these potential new markets.

Decide on a market that you want to enter and study the local demand in that country:

First of all, you need to decide on the country that you want to trade in. In this case, you can narrow it down to your state or locality. With a focus on the USA, choosing a state to operate in, out of the 52 states, will provide you enough opportunity to thrive.

You then need to get familiar with the goods and products that are most in-demand in the state you want to enter. You can talk with locals to gather more information or even study the market online.

However, make sure to study recent trends because the demand for a certain product might decrease or increase from one year to another, in the different states. If you notice a certain product being in demand for several years, the chances are that you can be successful by importing that product. And usually, this is the case for basic goods such as foods or other commodities.

Do your research to determine what kind of modifications you may need to make to your product for this market, what the import duty rates are, and whether or not there are any U.S. export restrictions.

Find, Create, or Source your Product

It is important for you to find, create, or source for In-demand products that meet all required standards.

If you have a product that is selling well in the local market, it’s not unusual to attempt to sell that same product or products in other markets as well.

Products that may face growing local competition or products that are becoming outdated in the country could find new life in other markets that don’t have similar competition or need the very latest technology.

Identifying which products you end up exporting depends a great deal on many factors.

Some of the products you can export now include superfoods (Fonio grain), tea, herbal leaves, natural skin & beauty products, etc. You’re to also avoid exporting heavy products, products with low shelf life, and those with high technical requirements.

“Producing Products the Market Wants, Getting Access To RELIABLE Buyers,?And Having the System to Ensure You Succeed Is All You Need To Change Your Life Forever”

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Highest Selling African Products in the USA

Some of the highest selling African products in the USA include ;

• African Foods; such as Garri (Cassava Flakes), Beans , Elubo (Yam Flour), Pounded Yam flour) & food Generally.
• Finished food products like ; Indomie, Packed Melon e.t.c.
• Crafts , Black Soaps , Paintings, Fashion, Crafts, Raw-materials e.t.c.
• Also, for B2B exporters; cashew nuts, palm oil, e.t c are viable products although they may be capital intensive but are always worth it at the end if done properly.
• The opportunities in the non-food areas are also massive and should be explored by Africans looking to export to the USA.

Embrace?The?Internet

The internet has evolved and has created lots of opportunities for the export sector. Producers can now list their finished products on e-Commerce sites like; Amazon, Walmart,?Alibaba, and co.

With the use of the Amazon Automatic calculator, you can calculate the weight of products to determine their prices. There are also various resources available online to check quantities of products imported to the USA per state – this is done using the ‘Unique identifier’ of each product.

The amazing potentials that the internet offers now take away the excuses of most exporters as there shouldn’t be a problem with researching products or audiences again.

Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Alert can help with researching the marketplace while regular Social media like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn e.t.c are perfect for marketing, communication, and making connections with prospective clients.

Branding and Packaging

If you have locally manufactured goods that you intend to export to the USA, then you should consider having attractive packaging for your products.

The truth is that the packaging you use for your products is as important as the products themselves, especially when you know that these products are meant for exportation and are subjected to longer travel periods when you are exporting via the sea.

Packaging needs to be done to align to the target market including translation and adapting to local tastes, FDA requirements, labeling requirements, and other rules.

“Packaging you use for your products is as important as the products themselves”

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U.S. FDA Labeling Requirements

Labeling mistakes result in more than 22% of all detentions in the United States.

In the United States, if you deal in food and drugs, the Food and Drug Administration requires the following data to be clearly stated on a packaged food label:

• Name of the product
• The manufacturer’s or distributor’s name and address
• The weight of the product
• Ingredients (listed according to amount, from highest to lowest)
• Number of servings per product, and serving size
• Calories
• Total fat, cholesterol, sodium, protein, carbohydrates)
• Vitamins and minerals (vitamin D, potassium, iron and calcium)
• Any artificial flavor or preservative added

Product Promotion and Partnership??

Three features that are unarguably the most important for an exportable product, which must be done right and?in line with the necessary regulatory requirements are:

1).?A prospective exporter?must do his/her research and check the various requirements in the destination market and follow them strictly while seeking partnership and promotion of her product. It’s important to note that these regulatory requirements may also vary depending on products.

2). Partnership

Getting the right partnership can be really helpful and make the exportation process easy especially for?African producers. The right partners can help local producers solve issues relating to registration, getting of a license, logistics, and marketing.

Having a strategic partner in the USA who helps you receive your products, sell and fulfill them to the buyers can be of help as it may even mean that you don’t have to bother so much as they become your eyes and ears in your target market as well as give you feedback.

For buyers/investors in the USA, having a local producer in Africa as a partner is also a strategic and viable way of getting high-valued products to be exported to them. These buyers can deal with the local partners on either ‘a contract-manufacturing basis or agreement or period-long contract.

3).?Promotion

Social media can also be explored to promote your products and listing your products on e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Walmart is also key.

Logistics and Freight

Logistics for export represents the entire supply chain channel which includes streamlining of order handling, transportation, inventory management and handling, storage, packaging, and clearing of the export goods.

Efficient export logistics management by the entity can give them a competitive advantage through better order handling and reduced product cycles.

If you can’t export through a shipping container, you can use air cargo. Your cost price may be high at first, but it helps you to be competitive.

The more volume you export by air, the more corresponding the price and It’s much better off with a Value-Added Product.

"The quality of the product is important but the quality of the exportation process of the product Is equally important, if not more important. "

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Once the product has been cleared for dispatch, the logistics process formally starts. One of the first things exporters need to do is to decide on the freight forwarder and the mode of shipping. Selecting an efficient freight forwarder/export logistics company/agent and clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent will ease the logistics process to a great extent.

The agent will organize the product to be transported through the shipment of the exporter’s choice, handle customs clearance, and ensure the completion of the final delivery at the point of destination. For example, if one is shipping by sea/ocean freight export, they will have to choose between transportation service options like consolidation, less than container load, full container load, project cargo, etc.

The goods to be shipped must be packed in an export-ready manner, which includes the necessary marking and labeling of the cases, packages, or cartons. A packing list is required if more than one package is to be dispatched in the lot. The goods are then cleared from the exporter’s premises, after completing excise formalities (if any).

Export Logistics Documentation

Activities involved in the logistics process naturally have a flow of documentation:

• Commercial invoice
• Dock receipt
• Bill of lading
• Certificate of origin
• Warehouse receipt
• Inspection certificate
• Export license
• Packing list
• Health certificate
• Insurance certificate
• Consular documents
• Free trade document
• Shipper’s letter of instruction
• Destination Control statement

Important Reminders

1). As an African exporter, you should focus on value-added manufactured products i.e. products with a high-value chain and relevance.

2). You should identify local producers and partner with them on a contract-manufacturing agreement basis.

3). You should work with credible partners in the USA. This can be the most important thing in your exportation business as they’ll take care of your business for you, while you remain in your home country receiving profits in dollars.

4). An Individual residing in the USA, who is interested in importing African products needs a Social security number (SSN), while a corporation or registered company, the company registration will suffice for a license. The licensing process may also vary depending on the products to be exported.

When importing food products for example; the manufacturer must be registered with the Food and Drug Administration of the USA.

Start?exporting?your?African product to the USA in 90 Days

In a bid to help individuals, businesses export their products to the USA in 90 days, the USAfrica Business Hub has developed a complete proprietary framework and a practical guide based on the Border Smart System, to export readily accessible, in-demand products from Africa with little money and without chasing buyers in 90 Days through her program –?Export and Prosper.

Register for the Export to Prosper Program to get not only the full knowledge you need to start exporting your product to willing buyers in the United States in 90 days. but also the guidance and supports to make it successful without much trial and errors

The?Program will cover:

• Full course (10 modules / 60+ lessons)
• Lifetime access to all future releases
• Verified list of buyers & importers in the USA
• USAfrica Hub private forum access
• Templates to help you save time and.money on your business.
• Weekly group coaching sessions
• Product listing platform
• Amongst others

This is about the best bargain you can get for a transformative program capable of helping you build a sustainable export business that gets you paid in dollars on a monthly basis.

Click?HERE?to register today.

Want to reach us, kindly email us –?[email protected]

Gbenga Omotayo is the Executive Director at the USAfrica Business Expo and the USAfrica Business HUB; an international trade marketplace connecting U.S. & African businesses with new buyers, suppliers, and investment opportunities.