Breakbulk conference to stay in Africa

Last week’s first Africa Breakbulk conference to be held on African soil attracted more than 300 delegates from 35 countries. The first Africa breakbulk conference was held in Bremen, Germany last year, but according to Janet Plume, content director for Breakbulk Conference and Events, it will stay in Africa. “We will in all probability hold it in Johannesburg next year before returning to Cape Town in 2014,” she said. Transnet CEO Brian Molefe outlined the organisation’s Market Demand Strategy while Sobantu Tilayi, chief operations officer of the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), discussed the need to rejuvenate the maritime industry in South Africa. “Despite the age-old perception that Africa continues to take almost as many steps back as forward in becoming a global trading partner, the ultimate result is that progress – however slow – is evident in the growing volume of African trade,” said Plume.