Wholesale Suppliers in Onitsha and Aba, with Nnewi for Auto Parts
South-east Nigeria has three trading towns that every wholesale buyer should know. Onitsha, on the River Niger in Anambra State, is the general merchandise hub, centred on Onitsha Main Market and a ring of specialist markets. Aba, in Abia State, is a manufacturing town, and Ariaria International Market is where its locally made footwear, garments, bags and leather goods are sold. Nnewi, also in Anambra State, is the centre for motor and motorcycle spare parts. This guide explains what to buy where and how to buy safely.
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Des milliers d'acheteurs s'approvisionnent auprès de fournisseurs vérifiés sur Towobo.
Find Wholesale Suppliers on Towobo →How the south-east trading network fits together
The three towns do different jobs. Onitsha is a distribution city. Its merchants import directly, buy from Lagos and from local factories, and resell to traders from the rest of the south-east, the south-south, the middle belt and beyond, helped by the town's position at the Niger crossing, where the road from Lagos and the west meets the roads into the east. Aba is a production city, with thousands of small workshops making shoes, clothing, bags and other goods that are sold across Nigeria and into neighbouring countries under the informal label Aba-made. Nnewi began as a spare parts trading town and developed into an industrial centre, with traders who once imported parts moving into manufacturing, among them the vehicle maker Innoson. The network is held together by a strong culture of enterprise and apprenticeship. Young people traditionally serve a master trader for several years, learn the line, and are then settled with capital or stock to start on their own, which is why whole streets deal in the same product and why newcomers often find sellers surprisingly well informed. For a buyer, the practical point is that the south-east can supply imported goods, locally made goods and parts within a few hours' drive of each other.