The Managing Director of SACHO, Mrs Adenike Aboderin revealed this at the Airport Business Summit and Expo (ABSE 2026) held in Lagos.
Aboderin, represented by the Executive Director of Business Development, SAHCO, Mr Babatunde Afolabi, urged stakeholders to transform fragmented trade into a fast, transparent and digitally driven cargo ecosystem.
Aboderin delivered a paper on “Air Cargo Logistics and E-commerce Supply Chain in Nigeria.”
According to her, the challenge facing the aviation industry was no longer the availability of demand, but the sector’s ability to convert growing commercial activities into efficient, compliant and technology-driven cargo operations.
She said Nigeria recorded 6.1 billion dollars in non-oil exports in 2025, while the country’s online population reached 109 million by the end of the year.
She noted that the Nigerian e-commerce market is projected to grow to 18.7 billion dollars by 2031, as African airline cargo demand is expected to expand by 6.0 per cent in 2025.
Aboderin said these indicators pointed to significant opportunities for the aviation industry to increase non-aeronautical revenue through air cargo.
She said cargo operations were shifting away from traditional bulk imports to time-sensitive, high-value and digitally tracked shipments driven by e-commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises, pharmaceuticals and perishable goods.
She stressed that logistics providers capable of offering cargo visibility, regulatory compliance, cold-chain integrity and predictable turnaround times would be best positioned to benefit from the emerging market.
She emphasised that Nigeria’s aviation sector must integrate airport infrastructure, customs processes, ground handling operations, technology platforms and export promotion into a single coordinated operating system.
She added that this would help to maximise the benefits of the growing cargo market.
Despite the enormous potential, Aboderin observed that Nigeria’s cargo ecosystem continued to face structural challenges that limit efficiency.
Shee said small businesses still shipped fragmented consignments with weak cargo consolidation, resulting in high logistics costs.
She also identified paper-based documentation and manual customs procedures as major causes of delays in e-commerce cargo processing.
Other challenges highlighted included inadequate cold-chain infrastructure for pharmaceuticals and agricultural exports, rising costs driven by foreign exchange volatility, aviation fuel prices, airport charges and storage fees, and limited real-time cargo tracking among others.
She also noted that the continued movement of exports through informal channels, significantly reduces revenue, compliance and data visibility.
Aboderin called for a phased reform strategy combining immediate operational improvements with medium-term digital transformation and stronger policy coordination across the aviation and logistics value chain.
She maintained that strengthening digital cargo processing, improved infrastructure and enhancing collaboration among airports, customs authorities, ground handlers and exporters would position Nigeria to capture the growing opportunities presented by e-commerce and regional trade.
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