Florida ports vie for bigger slice of SA pie

TERRY HUTSON A LARGE delegation of Florida State port officials, which made its second visit to South Africa last week, sees Florida as the future gateway to the Americas for two-way South African and African trade. According to Charles Towsley, Miami port director who headed the port delegation to Johannesburg and the ports of Richards Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, Florida’s 14 ports are ideally placed for this purpose, although traditionally South African trade has concentrated on the northeastern corner of the United States. York Robertson of US Customs, who accompanied the high-powered delegation, said that more than 50% of all cargo entering the US was containerised, which amounted to nine million boxes annually. “There are 33 CSI (container security initiative) ports now operational of which Durban is in fact the only one in Africa.” Michael Thurston, US consul general in Durban, told the meeting that the United States was building strong relationships with South African business. He said his country was working on a free trade agreement with the SA Customs Union region that would further cement this relationship, which aimed at reducing the cost of doing business. “If South Africa/US trade is strong it will influence surrounding countries – which is how we view it.” He said the US saw South Africa as an attractive place to do business and this was the reason why AGOA trade had grown to be worth US$1.7bn. (R10.2bn) Thurston said that the US was responsible for one third of all global output, while South Africa was equal to one third of sub-Saharan Africa’s output. “That’s another reason to develop stronger relationships.” The Durban meeting concluded with the signing of a twinning agreement between the ports of Miami and Durban.