China’s diminishing appetite for commodities is taking a heavy toll on South Africa’s exports while imports have also not fared well. “This year we saw 7% fewer import containers compared to previous years,” said Matt Conroy, Maersk Line’s South Africa trade and marketing manager. “At the same time the lack of Chinese demand has significantly affected exports especially – minerals to the East. “Some of the biggest declines we saw were for chrome. The lower demand for South Africa’s metals, minerals and wood in China, which is the destination for about 40% of the exports, has a significant impact on volumes locally.” The strike in the metal industry, particularly the platinum sector in the first half of the year, did not help the situation at all, said Conroy. Trade growth between South Africa and China in recent years has been significant, but this has also made the country vulnerable to any drop in demand in the East. “From a liner side we are putting in as many efficiencies as possible on the Asia/ South Africa trade route in an effort to contain costs. We are also making sure that utilisation of vessels is as high as possible as this does impact on the unit costs and addresses efficiency as well,” said Conroy. INSERT & CAPTION The strike in the metal industry, particularly the platinum sector in the first half of the year, did not help the situation at all. – Matt Conroy
