Copper outflows from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) via South Africa’s Port of Durban have decreased substantially, with the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania taking the lion’s share of cathodes shipped out of the Copperbelt.
According to Mike Fitzmaurice of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations, 70% of the Belt’s copper is going out via Dar, compared to 30% carved up between Durban and the ports of Beira and Walvis Bay.
If Durban gets 20% of the remaining third of copper not exported via Dar, it’s a lot, the association’s chief executive said.
As predicted in recent years, security issues have steadily eroded copper volumes trucked south towards Durban on the north-south line out of Zambia.
“On the Durban route transporters are constantly facing the threat of hijacking and losing loads.
“It’s happening on a monthly basis.
“Once they cross the border they’re under threat of getting hijacked,” he said.
In Tanzania, where road freight is monopolistically run and foreign-registered trucking is prohibitively expensive, such security concerns are to a large degree absent, Fitzmaurice explained.
Add into the mix once-nagging port issues that have finally been sorted out, and the Dar Corridor has, as expected, emerged as the preferred way out for Copperbelt outflows.
Mozambique’s Port of Beira is a fair contender, Fitzmaurice added, being closer than both Durban and Dar.
Unfortunately lack of sufficient capacity seems to be its Achilles Heel.
“It doesn’t have what Dar has. And yet volumes through Mozambique’s Machipanda border with Zimbabwe on the Beira Corridor have gone up by 63% in the last three years.”
This synchronises with views expressed by Jan de Vries, executive managing director of port concessionaire Cornelder de Moçambique, who told South African exporters pre-Covid that Beira was doing everything in its power to improve its copper-handling capacity.
As for Durban clawing back copper shipments lost to competing ports, Fitzmaurice believes that shipped has sailed.
“It’s too far, too expensive and too risky.”
He added that from what was coming out of East Africa, the intention from the logistics community was to remain in the ascendant.
“The Port of Mombasa is officially Africa’s busiest port, recording 34 million tonnes per annum compared to Durban’s 33 million tonnes.
“The only reason why it’s not taking copper as well is because practically it makes more sense for Copperbelt outflows to be shipped on the Dar Corridor.”
Further strengthening Dar’s position in relation to sustained copper volumes was last May’s news that a bridge across the Luapula River is being considered between Kasomena in the DRC and Mwenda in Zambia.
Should such a linkage for existing road infrastructure proceed, it will significantly reduce the transit time of copper going out south-east via Lubumbashi and Ndola before going north-north-east via Nakonde and onto Dar.
