Import cargo crucial to Maputo’s growth potential

09 Nov 2012 - by Joy Orlek

If Maputo is to realise its growth
potential and become a costcompetitive
alternative to Durban,
it will need to go all out to attract
transit import cargo.
It’s one of the clear targets of
clearing and logistics company
Metreta Investments and has, for
some time, been a clear focus of the
Port of Maputo.
“To reduce the costs on the
corridor we have to get transit
import cargo going through the
port,” says Metreta Investments
director Jan Bekker, who estimates
that the cost of moving a container
between Gauteng and Maputo is
probably double the rate to Durban.
That’s because trucking companies
and bulk carriers are costing it on
100% empty return while flatbed
carriers would be costing on around
80% empty return, according to
Bekker.
“If we could start attracting bulk
imports like coking coal, sulphur
and fertiliser, these would provide
return loads and reduce the cost of
transport on the inland leg.”
The problem is that a lot of bulk
imports like fertiliser need undercover
storage – and there isn’t a
lot available either in the port or
outside.
It’s an issue that Metreta is
looking to address through an
agreement with Mozambique-based
logistics company Our Corridor
Logistics (OCL).
Former head of the Maputo Port
Development Company, Jorge
Ferraz, set up OCL in February this
year as a joint venture with Metreta
– and warehousing is high on their
agenda.
“We have earmarked a few
warehouses already and by early
next year we plan to have dedicated
under-cover and open storage
warehousing for specific products –
both imports and exports – up and
running,” Bekker told FTW.
“Ideally we would do packing of
bulk commodities, containerising
and general cargo.
“And through our operation in
Maputo with OCL, we are looking
to grow business to and from
Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.”
The idea of the joint venture, says
Ferraz, is to make corridor trade as
simple as possible for our clients –
importers and exporters requiring
logistics solutions for their transit
cargo – by finding viable solutions.
“The way we do it is by having
people in both companies with
knowledge of the processes and
current available resources in the
region to put together a package that
is both efficient and seamless for
the shipper.”
Bekker, whose involvement
on the corridor spans more than
a decade, was sales and business
development manager for the
Maputo Container Terminal before
setting up Metreta Investments with
well-known industry personality
Eddie Ferreira.
The Komatipoort-based company
was established to provide total
logistics solutions on the Maputo
corridor.
Along with Delta Clearing, a
separate clearing company run by
Hester Ferreira, Bekker estimates
that some 400 plus trucks a day
are handled by the two companies
through the border.
While volumes through the port
have taken a dive this year for a
variety of reasons, among them
the poor chrome price, Metreta
has secured a large contract for the
movement by road of iron ore to
Maputo, according to Bekker.
“Our strength at this stage is in
bulk road haul moves to the port
but we are growing our container
business where we reposition
containers into South Africa
and pack for export. One of our
contracts is for the movement of
logs in 40-foot containers, packed in
White River for onward transport to
South East Asia.”
Looking to the future, Bekker is
upbeat.“If commodity prices are
right, business can only grow.”