Bottlenecks disturb cargo flow

Deliveries delayed by up to four days REVAMPS TO Maputo’s strategically positioned harbour and the cultivation of the Mozambique Development Corridor have stimulated the movement of approximately R2.8-billion of SA’s annual export trade across the border each year. According to Dave Edmond- Mack, MD of the Sugar Division of Cargo Carriers, the JSE-listed specialised transportation and logistics company, increased volumes crossing the Mozambican border from SA are due to both the location of the harbour and infrastructural developments in Mozambique. “The logistics industry servicing SA and Mozambique is experiencing enormous growth, primarily because of the port in Maputo. Development along the Mozambique Development Corridor accommodates more heavy transport between the two countries,” says Edmond Mack. “If you analyse the products going across the border there’s a split between cement being used for the restoration work on Mozambique’s infrastructure, and other products being exported through the Maputo harbour, specifically citrus and bulk sugar from Mpumalanga and Limpopo.” And the reason for Maputo harbour’s attractiveness is not hard to figure, he says. Strategically, the location of the port for export commodities such as fruits and sugar, significant contributors to the economies of both Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, is closer than that of Durban. And the Mozambique Development Corridor is an infrastructural link between SA, Swaziland and Mozambique. Besides the obvious transport route the area is also being explored to exploit the potential for natural gas, geological and electricity networks. “In January this year we opened a branch of Cargo Carriers Limitada in Maputo. Out of that facility a general fleet operates. From there we move a variety of products, for example bulk cement for the enormous road construction projects under way in Mozambique, as well as citrus and bags of sugar, both across the border and internally.” The only pitfall, in Edmond- Mack’s opinion, is one of bureaucratic red tape at the clearing depots in SADC countries. The bottlenecks created by cumbersome clearing systems cause delays in delivery of up to four days, with financial repercussions for the clients and the company. With a trade agreement to the value of R5.6-billion between SA and Mozambique, the viability of Maputo as a second Indian Ocean harbour for SA is undisputed, he says.