LaycanDeskWest Africa to Pakistan soybean freight - Lagos, Lomé, Cotonou and Tema to Karachi and Port Qasim
Non-GM soybeans from Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Benin to Pakistani solvent extractors, in 20-foot containers of 20 to 22 tonnes and, where a stem can be built, in bulk into Port Qasim. Pakistan imported 1,039,400 tonnes of soybeans in 2024 and 719,200 tonnes of them came from Africa: Nigeria 257,600, Benin 217,500, Togo 127,200, Ethiopia 71,500 and Ghana 45,400 tonnes. The trade moves in bagged and bulk-lined 20-foot containers out of Apapa, Tin Can, Lomé, Cotonou and Tema into Karachi and Port Qasim, priced CFR Karachi against a customs valuation floor of USD 625 per tonne, with the non-GM certificate deciding whether the cargo clears at all.
West African soybeans became Pakistan's main supply after the 2022 hold on unlicensed GM cargoes at Port Qasim pushed the solvent extractors towards certified non-GM beans. GM soybean seed imports were approved again in October 2024 and resumed in February 2025 under National Biosafety Committee licences that run to November 2026, but non-GM African beans need only the plant-protection import permit and a phytosanitary certificate, and they remain the larger flow. The cargo is aggregated from smallholders in Kaduna, Benue, Niger, Kano and central Togo, cleaned, dried and stuffed in 50-kilo bags or bulk-lined boxes of 20 to 22 tonnes; lots run from 20 to 100 boxes on one bill of lading, and the container lines carry them with transhipment to Karachi Port or Port Qasim. Benin banned raw soybean exports from 1 April 2024, so Beninese origin now leaves mainly as meal.
Bulk is the exception because no West African soybean port has a grain shiploader and a 25,000-tonne stem takes months to assemble in tropical humidity, but where an exporter can build one the Fauji Akbar Portia terminal at Port Qasim discharges oilseed bulkers with its own unloaders and has taken drafts of 12.3 metres. The desk works the lane on documents and terms: an accredited non-GM certificate and the NPPO phytosanitary certificate issued before sailing, moisture at 12 percent maximum, foreign matter capped, a letter of credit at sight from a Pakistani bank, and free time at Karachi long enough for plant-protection inspection. Charterers send origin and exporter, box count or bulk quantity, load port, laycan, discharge terminal and the buyer of record; without the exporter and the named crusher nothing is worked. We work by email.
Load ports
- Lagos: Apapa and Tin Can Island (Nigerian beans)
- Lomé (Togo; the regional container hub)
- Tema (Ghana; export permit under L.I. 2432)
- Cotonou (Benin; raw beans banned since 1 Apr 2024, meal only)
Discharge ports
- Karachi Port: KICT and SAPT container terminals
- Port Qasim: QICT for containers
- Port Qasim: FAP grain and oilseed terminal for bulk (drafts to 12.3 m recorded)
- Crushers in Karachi, Lahore, Sheikhupura and Multan
Typical parcels
- 20–100 × 20-ft boxes, 20–22 t each, one B/L (400–2,200 t)
- Rolling deliveries of 20–100 boxes a fortnight to one crusher
- Bulk stems rare; FAP has berthed a 69,300 t soybean cargo
- 2024 unit values USD 553–575/t CFR by origin (Comtrade)
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
Can Pakistan import GM soybeans now?
GM soybean seed imports were approved in October 2024 and resumed in February 2025 under National Biosafety Committee licences that run to November 2026; GM soybean meal imports were refused in May 2025. Non-GM West African beans need no NBC licence, only the Department of Plant Protection import permit and an origin phytosanitary certificate, which is why they still carry the volume. Check the licence position at fixing; it has moved twice in two years.
Why containers and not a bulk carrier?
Origin. Beans are aggregated from smallholders and none of the West African load ports has a grain shiploader, so a 25,000-tonne stem would sit for months in the heat. Pakistani crushers also prefer 20 to 100 boxes at a time against a local letter of credit rather than financing a whole ship. Where an exporter holds a bulk stem the FAP terminal at Port Qasim can discharge it; the quantity decides which of the two is worked.
What price floor does Pakistan Customs apply?
Valuation Ruling 1910/2024 of 31 October 2024 sets USD 0.625 per kilo C&F, USD 625 per tonne, for non-GM soybean seed of all origins under PCT 1201.9000. Duty is assessed on that floor even if the invoice is lower. Basic customs duty on 1201.9000 is nil with a 2 percent additional customs duty under SRO 1151(I)/2025; 2024 Comtrade unit values from Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana were USD 553 to 575 per tonne CFR.
What must I send?
Origin country and exporter, non-GM certification body, quantity as boxes or tonnes, load port, laycan, discharge terminal (Karachi or Port Qasim), payment terms and the crusher of record. Owners and lines with West Africa to Indian Ocean capacity send positions to desk-a005f1@in.laycandesk.com.