Fillip for SA beef exporters?

With freight rates for
refrigerated containers
(reefers) carrying US beef,
pork and poultry to Asia set
to climb, according to the
Transpacific Stabilisation
Agreement (TSA), will
there be a positive spin-off
for southern African meat
exporters in SA and
Namibia?
The members of the
TSA westbound section
are APL, CSCL, CMA
CGM, Cosco, Evergreen,
Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd,
Hyundai Merchant
Marine, “K” Line, Maersk,
MSC, NYK, OOCL, Yang
Ming Marine and Zim.
And it’s tight capacity
supply and rising demand
that have persuaded this
westbound section to
think along the lines of a
rates increase of US$700
per forty-foot (12 metre)
container (FEU), effective
July 1. A rate hike that they
further justify as most rates
for so-called ‘protein’ cargo
are at their lowest in five
years, said the TSA.
That’s a significant
increase, and one that will
exert considerable pressure
on the US meat exporters’
price-competitiveness.
And will it benefit
southern African meat
exporters?
“Yes indeed,” said
Mark Luff, commercial
director at Excellent
Meats International
and a member of the
executive committee of
the Association of Meat
Importers and Exporters
(Amie).
Because of the huge numbers
of empty import containers
in SA – all of which need to
be repositioned to the Asian
export source countries – SA
meat exporters already get
very good discounted rates to
the Far East.
“This proposed rates hike
on US meat export reefer
boxes will obviously extend
the product price advantage
we get from lower freight
costs,” Luff told FTW. “It
could also have a possible
spin-off because we
already export lots to
the Far East – and are
therefore well-known as
an alternative source.”
But the benefit will
only apply to beef
exports and to SA, he
added.
“There is no poultry
or pork going from SA to
the Far East,’ Luff said.
“And Namibia’s main meat
export market is Europe,
not Asia.”