Export Business Support

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Product Profiles: Iron Ore

Description: Iron (Fe) is a metallic element and composes about 5% of the Earth’s crust. When pure it is a dark, silvery-gray metal. It is a very reactive element and oxidizes (rusts) very easily. The reds, oranges and yellows seen in some soils and on rocks are probably iron oxides. The inner core of the Earth is believed to be a solid iron-nickel alloy. Iron-nickel meteorites are believed to represent the earliest material formed at the beginning of the universe. Studies show that there is considerable iron in the stars and terrestrial planets: Mars, the "Red Planet," is red due to the iron oxides in its crust.

Occurrence: Iron is one of the three naturally magnetic elements; the others are cobalt and nickel. Iron is the most magnetic of the three. The mineral magnetite (Fe3O4) is a naturally occurring metallic mineral that is occasionally found in sufficient quantities to be an ore of iron.

The principle ores of iron are Hematite, (70% iron) and Magnetite, (72 % iron). Taconite is a low-grade iron ore, containing up to 30% Magnetite and Hematite.

Hematite is iron oxide (Fe2O3). The amount of hematite needed in any deposit to make it profitable to mine must be in the tens of millions of tons. Hematite deposits are mostly sedimentary in origin, such as the banded iron formations (BIFs). BIFs consist of alternating layers of chert (a variety of the mineral quartz), hematite and magnetite. They are found throughout the world and are the most important iron ore in the world today. Their formation is not fully understood, though it is known that they formed by the chemical precipitation of iron from shallow seas about 1.8-1.6 billion years ago, during the Proterozoic Eon.

Taconite is a silica-rich iron ore that is considered to be a low-grade deposit. However, the iron-rich components of such deposits can be processed to produce a concentrate that is about 65% iron, which means that some of the most important iron ore deposits around the world were derived from taconite. Taconite is mined in the United States, Canada, and China.

Locations: There are over 3 billion tonnes of iron ore found in Kogi, Enugu, Niger, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Kaduna States. Iron is currently being mined at Itakpe (Kogi State), which is more or less at the center of the region of crystalline iron deposits. The large deposit of oolitic iron ores of Kogi and Enugu States are yet to be fully explored. Nigeria is one of the richest countries of the world as far as mineral resources are concerned including iron ores.  The estimates of workable iron ore deposits stand in excess of 3 billion tones most of which belong to hematite, hematite-magnetite, hematite-geothite and siderite-geothite grades are found in Itakpe.  However, Agbaja iron ore deposit (proven reserve – 1 billion metric tonnes) is the largest in Nigeria.  Contrary to the 3 billion tonnes estimate, another school of taught argued that, Nigeria has the largest resources of iron ore on the West Coast of Africa, with inferred reserves estimated at 5 Billion tons. The iron content of the ores ranges from 15% to 65%, averaging 30-36.

Specifications:

Typically a buyer will require the following specification:

Specification	Percentage
Fe:	30-70%
Al2o3:	2.00%	Max
Sio2:	3.00%	Max
Sulphur:	0.003%	Max
Phosphorous:	0.06%	Max
Mn:	0.10%	Max

Uses: About 98% of iron ore is used to make steel - one of the greatest inventions and most useful materials ever created. While the other uses for iron ore and iron are only a very small amount of the consumption, they provide excellent examples of the ingenuity and the multitude of uses that man can create from our natural resources. Powdered iron: used in metallurgy products, magnets, high-frequency cores, auto parts, catalyst. Radioactive iron (iron 59): in medicine, tracer element in biochemical and metallurgical research. Iron blue: in paints, printing inks, plastics, cosmetics (eye shadow), artist colors, laundry blue, paper dyeing, fertilizer ingredient, baked enamel finishes for autos and appliances, industrial finishes. Black iron oxide: as pigment, in polishing compounds, metallurgy, medicine, magnetic inks, in ferrites for electronics industry.

Export market: The major export markets Iron ore is China. Other buyers next to china include India, Malaysia, United state, Indonesia, Australia and Hong Kong.

Export Price: Depending on the purity of the FOB price of Iron ore could vary from US100-250/MT.

Local price: Depending on the purity and type of Iron ore, the local market price at the loading point could vary from NGN15,000-NGN25,000/MT or more.

Product Profile: Coffee Beans

Description: The coffee bean is actually the seed, or pit, of the round, red cherry fruit of a tropical evergreen shrub. The coffee shrub grows up to 15 feet in height, and its branches grow thick with broad, waxy green leaves. In addition to the claret red clusters of coffee cherries, each coffee branch offers an abundance of luxuriant, jasmine-scented flowers.

There are two major species of coffee that are grown for commercial use, Coffea robusta and Coffea arabica. Robusta grows at lower elevations, has a higher yield per plant, and is more disease resistant than its arabica relative. Robusta beans are noteworthy for their harsh, dirty flavor and abundant caffeine-twice as much caffeine, in fact, as is found in arabica beans. Relatively low costs of production make robustas favorite with North American canned, or "institutional," coffee roasters.

The arabica species, which grows best at higher elevations, is the source of all of the world's great coffees. While there is more poor-tasting arabica than robusta in the world, this is simply a result of the fact that monumentally more arabica is grown. About 75 percent of the world's total production is arabica; at most, 10 percent of that is actually of "specialty" quality.

Harvest: The harvest season for the coffee produced from Nigeria extends from November till March.

Locations: The states that cultivate Coffee beans in commercial quantity in Nigeria are Abia, Taraba, Kogi and Plateau State.

Specifications:

·         Type:                      Roasted Coffee

·         Moisture:               13% max.

·         Foreign matter:    1% max.

·         Black & broken:    5% max

·         Microbial content: Nil

Uses:

General Use: The single most popular use of coffee beans is their use in making coffee, one of the most popular beverages of present times. The versatility of coffee beans as a beverage enables them to be used in a variety of combinations, some of which include caffè lattes, cafe mochas, cappuccinos, frappuccinos and liqueur coffee among others. Apart from being used for making beverages, coffee beans have a number of less conventional uses. Ground coffee is a great odour neutralizer. If a power outage occurs, for example, and food in the freezer defrosts and spoils, fill a bowl with ground coffee and leave in the freezer overnight to remove any foul odours. Ground coffee can also be used to clean stain resistant surfaces. It has a mild and gentle abrasive element, smells fresh and is particularly good for ashtrays and greasy surfaces. 

Commercial Use: Coffee beans consist mostly of endosperm that contains 0.8 - 2.5 % caffeine, which is one of the main reasons the plants are cultivated. Coffee is one of the world's most widely consumed beverages, making coffee beans a major cash crop, and an important export product for some countries. There are numerous species of coffee plants, but two species are predominantly consumed. Coffea Arabica is the most commonly consumed coffee plant, followed by Coffea Robusta which accounts for approximately 25% to 40% of the global coffee crop.

Industrial Use: A recent industrial use of coffee is in its inclusion in a sun filter composition, adapted for application to the human skin, which comprises a coffee extract consisting of a coffee bean oil which does not contain water soluble extracts. Used in various compositions the said coffee bean oil has been found to have a high absorption capacity to filter light selectively in the wavelength range of 280 to 320 nm and a low absorption capacity to filter light in the range above 320 nm. 

Export market: The major buyers of coffee beans around the world are China and United State of America while the minor importers include Spain, South Korea, Turkey and Yemen.

Export Price: The FOB prices of shelled coffee beans range from USD300-500 /MT  or even more depending on quality and time of year.

Local price: The local market price per MT ranges from NGN300, 000.00 to NGN400, 000.00 for the unshelled and the pure coffee beans is more than N500,000 per MT depending on the quality and the period of the year. This is really very high and thus makes the export of coffee beans from Nigeria unattractive.

e-Export Seminar

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NEPC Approved International Trade Fair in 2011.

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NIGERIAN EXPORT VOLUMES (IN USD) FROM 2006-2009

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Agricultural Commodities Harvest Seasons In Nigeria

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Export Business Options: Full Time Exporter

Full Time Exporter: These are exporters that are fully on ground and capable to execute their export project without any supervision. Therefore, a full time exporter carryout all the export operations from export planning to the shipments of goods and payment of the export proceeds by the buyer.  The return on investment for this option could be more than 30%.

 We are able to effectively serve this group of exporters through our Export Information Service. This service enables both intending and existing exporters to have easy and swift access to all export information and advisory services. This therefore enables an exporter to make an informed decision in the export process which include export planning, contract sourcing, product sourcing, export logistics, export documentation and export financing. The service can be accessed by clients from both outside Lagos and outside Nigeria without meeting 3T Impex physically.  (For more information, click this link http://exportnigeria.blogspot.com/2011/06/3t-impex-services-export-information.html). 

This Export business option is only suitable for individuals/company that has acquired experience in exportation through:

1. Actual export done previously

2. Job done for exporters as an Export Business Support (EBS Advance) agent.

3. Job Description executed as an operation staff of an established exporting company.    

Export Business Options: Part-Time Exporter

 

Part Time Exporter: These are exporters that are available (may be partially available) to work with the firm engaged to handle the entire operational arm of their export business. Therefore, in addition to providing funds in their account and releasing the funds as the need arises in the export process, they are also available to fill the forms, make the necessary payments, liaise with the freight forwarders and inspection agents and handle other port logistics. All these will be done under 3T Impex supervision. The return on investment for this option could range from 25-30%.

 We are able to effectively serve this group of exporters through our Export Mentoring Service. This service is designed to assist clients that are new entrant in the export business to find their footings. Through this service, we hand hold our clients from the beginning through the rigour of the export operations and processes to the point of a guided test shipment. (For more information, click this link http://exportnigeria.blogspot.com/2011/06/3t-impex-services-export-mentorship.html). 

This Export business option is suitable for:

1. Individuals who are looking for multiple streams of income

2. Marketers who have time to do their private business vis a vis their Job descriptions.

3. Businessmen that want to divest into other sector and have sometime to monitor the business

4. Retirees who are still strong enough to be available to cope with the stress of port activities

5. Individuals who just relocated from abroad, looking for business opportunities and available for the export operations

Export Business Options: Armchair Exporter

Armchair Exporter: These are exporters that fully outsourced the entire operational arm of their export business.They only provide funds in their account and release the funds as the need arises in the export process. The return on investment for this option could range from 10-25%.

We are able to effectively serve this group of exporters at 3T Impex through our Export Execution Service. This service is designed to assists our clients to carry out all the export processes (export planning, contract sourcing, product sourcing, documentations, inspection and logistics) in the client's company name, from the beginning to the receipt of the export proceeds from the buyer’s Bank abroad.  (For more information, click this link http://exportnigeria.blogspot.com/2011/06/3t-impex-services-export-execution.html). 

This Export business option is suitable for:

1. Professionals that  would like to start a business while still in a paid employment.

2. Individuals who are looking for multiple streams of income.

3. Employee who wants to test the waters before quitting paid employment.

4. Businessmen that want to divest but do not have time to monitor the new business.

5. Financial Institution looking for viable investment opportunities.

6. Retirees that looking for less stressful business opportunities.

7. Those that are tired of the Rat race in the work place.

Product Profiles- Manganese Ore

Description: Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature (often in combination with iron), and in many minerals. As a free element, manganese is a metal with important industrial metal alloy uses, particularly in stainless steels.

Occurrence: Manganese makes up about 1000 ppm (0.1%) of the Earth's crust, making it the 12th most abundant element there. Soil contains 7–9000 ppm of manganese with an average of 440 ppm. Seawater has only 10 ppm manganese and the atmosphere contains 0.01 µg/m³ Manganese occurs principally as pyrolusite (MnO₂), braunite, (Mn²⁺Mn³⁺₆)(SiO₁₂), psilomelane (Ba,H₂O)₂Mn₅O₁₀, and to a lesser extent as rhodochrosite (MnCO₃).

Locations: Manganese ore is found in different parts of Nigeria and these includes:  Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Kaduna, Plateau, Katsina, Kebbi and Nassarawa.

Specifications:

Components    Content %

Mn                    30-70

Fe                     2.0-2.5

P                      0.3 Max

Silicon              21.0 Max      
CaO                  4.0 Max

MgO                 5.0 Max

Al                     3.0 Max

Uses: Manganese has no satisfactory substitute in its major applications, which are related to metallurgical alloy use. In minor applications, (e.g., manganese phosphating), zinc and sometimes vanadium are viable substitutes. In disposable battery manufacture, standard and alkaline cells using manganese will probably eventually be mostly replaced with lithium battery technology.

Manganese is also used sparingly in the manufacture of coins in various countries. Current, the European Union uses manganese to produce one- and two- Euro coins, while in the United States; the one dollar coin contains high levels of manganese

A number of other uses for manganese are common today. For example, the inclusion of manganese in gasoline additives has been shown to boost octane ratings and helps to minimize engine knocking. In glass making, manganese helps to remove the green tinge that is something left by the presence of iron particles. Manganese phosphates help to deal with rust and corrosion on steel surfaces. Manganese oxide has a brown appearance that can be used in paints.

Export market: The major export markets Manganese ore is China. Other buyers next to china include India, Hong Kong, Taiwan. Other minor buyers include South Africa, Germany and United state.

Export Price: Depending on the percentage purity of the manganese ore and the prevailing London metal exchange (lme.com) price, the FOB price of manganeses ore could vary from US150-USD300/MT.

Local price: Depending on the percentage purity of the manganese, the local market price at the loading point could vary from NGN15,000-NGN30,000/MT 

Payment Methods: Advance Payment

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1. Exporter and Importer sign the purchase contract
2. Importer transfers funds to pay Exporter
3. Exporter ships the goods to the Importer
4. Exporter forwards shipping documents to the Importer

Payment Methods: Letter Of Credit (Confirmed, Sight)

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1. Exporter and Importer sign the purchase contract
2. Importer requests for Letter of credit (LC) and release funds to its Bank
3. Importer’s Bank Issue LC and sends it to the Confirming Bank
4. Confirming Bank adds its confirmation to the LC and forwards it to the Exporter’s Bank
5. Exporter’s Bank advises the LC the Exporter
6. Exporter ships the goods to the Importer
7. Exporter forwards shipping documents to its Bank
8. Exporter’s Bank forwards shipping documents to the Confirming Bank
9. Confirming Bank transfers the funds to the Exporter’s Bank
10. Exporter’s Bank pays the Exporter
11. Confirming Bank forwards shipping documents to the Importer’s Bank
12. Importer’s Bank release the shipping documents to the Importer
13. Importer clears its goods using the shipping documents

Payment Methods: Letter Of Credit (Unconfirm, Sight)

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1. Exporter and Importer sign the purchase contract
2. Importer requests for Letter of credit (LC) and release funds to its Bank
3. Importer’s Bank Issue LC and sends it to the Exporter’s Bank
4. Exporter’s Bank advises the LC the Exporter
5. Exporter ships the goods to the Importer
6. Exporter forwards shipping documents to its Bank
7. Exporter’s Bank forwards shipping documents to the Importer’s Bank
8. Importer’s Bank transfers the funds to the Exporter’s Bank
9. Exporter’s Bank pays the Exporter
10. Importer’s Bank release the shipping documents to the Importer
11. Importer clears its goods using the shipping documents

Payment Methods: Bill For Collection (Tenor, D/A)

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1. Exporter and Importer sign the purchase contract
2. Exporter ships the goods to the Importer
3. Exporter forwards shipping documents to its Bank
4. Exporter’s Bank forwards shipping documents to the Importer’s Bank
5. Importer’s Bank release the shipping documents to the Importer
6. Importer clears its goods using the shipping documents
7. Importer pay its Bank for the goods already cleared
8. Importer’s Bank transfers the funds to the Exporter’s Bank
9. Exporter’s Bank pays the Exporter

Payment Methods: Bill For Collection (Sight D/P)

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1. Exporter and Importer sign the purchase contract
2. Exporter ships the goods to the Importer
3. Exporter forwards shipping documents to its Bank
4. Exporter’s Bank forwards shipping documents to the Importer’s Bank
5. Importer’s Bank release the shipping documents to the Importer
6. Importer pays its Bank for the goods in exchange for documents received
7. Importer’s Bank transfers the funds to the Exporter’s Bank
8. Exporter’s Bank pays the Exporter
9. Importer clears its goods using the shipping documents

Payment Methods: Open Account (Cash Against Document)

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1. Exporter and Importer sign the purchase contract
2. Exporter ships the goods to the Importer
3. Exporter forwards shipping documents to the Importer
4. Importer transfers funds to pay Exporter