Coal industry fired up about 149.6% cargo dues hike

From April 1 South Africa’s coal export industry – which government always says it is trying to encourage – will be seriously jolted by a 149.6% increase in cargo dues. The hike is from R2.62/t to R6.54/t – which is less than the R7.23/t the TNPA originally applied for, but still a rattling blow for an export industry that relies on pricecompetitiveness to sell its product on foreign markets. Just think of this as a “before and after” scenario. If you previously wanted to export a 30 000-t packet of coal, the cargo dues would have totalled R78 600. Now, with the new tariff, the total is R196 200 – a mere one and a half times as much. The industry thinks it is “grossly unfair” said a major force on the coal export scene, and the industry is “basically very unhappy that the port authorities failed to have dialogue before implementing this ridiculous increase”. The SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff) is obviously upset with this, and is currently looking for TNPA to justify this specific increase. “The minister of transport has told the ports that they cannot increase tariffs above the consumer price index (CPI),” said Saaff’s customs and maritime director, Dave Watts. With this now being 5.7%, he could not see how TNPA could even think about an increase of almost 150%. Meantime, the SA Association of Ship Operators and Agents (Saasoa) told FTW they were aware of what they phrase as “this discrepancy”, and were organising a meeting with TNPA to discuss the matter. Shipping lines along with forwarders, coal exporters and Island View Shipping (IVS) – the country’s major bulk carrier operator – all point to it having a huge impact on SA’s coal export fortunes. As one observer of the coal industry put it: “A sudden R3.92 price increase per tonne of coal will just blow a lot of our exports out of the market.”