More and more cargo traditionally transported in drums and other containers is being converted to ISO bulk operations as African countries recognise the benefits of doing so.According to Melanie de Valencé, general manager for Africa at M&S Logistics, the outlook for the bulk cargo market is fairly positive, although the move to increased bulk operations will not be quick.“It will require a mindset change,” she told Freight News. “In most African countries shipments have always been received in intermediate bulk containers or drums that are later sold on in the local markets.”Converting these operations to ISO bulk takes some convincing, while equipment is also often delayed, resulting in increased demurrage costs.“The move to ISO bulk is a process and one that will take time.”Asked about why bulk should be adopted more on the continent, De Valencé said by converting to bulk there was a saving per litre and per ton.“This is because one can move more product and cut out the cost of the intermediate containers or drums. It also opens the opportunity to use more rail as opposed to road.”She said the company was keeping a close watch on the ongoing LNG project in Mozambique for increased bulk operations – as well as the mining sector in the Copperbelt where there was a high demand for acids.“Most of these commodities need to be transported or stored in specialised tanks, which offer multimodal transport benefits,” said De Valencé, indicating that while the local market had been slower to catch up with bulk movement as opposed to the global markets such as Europe where most gas and liquid commodities moved in bulk, there was a growing interest in the African markets.“There are challenges with bulk movements in Africa – particularly the poor roads and infrastructure on the continent – which often leads to higher rates.”More recently the coronavirus outbreak has led to long delays at border posts as well as complete border closures – all affecting bulk operations.
