India beckons SA’s reefer exporters

RAY SMUTS GIVEN THE resilience and determination of the Asian people as they rebuild their tsunami-shattered countries, Maersk Sealand’s Mark Cairns believes South African reefer cargo shipments to the West Central Asia region will continue to receive focus from the group. The commercial director for reefers in sub-Saharan Africa, Cairns believes that South Africa holds “huge potential” for getting perishable products more speedily into West Central Asia than some countries in other parts of the world. “While UK Northwest Continent is still the biggest reefer market for Maersk Sealand, the Middle East is obviously a growing market for us,” says Cairns, interviewed at a farewell function for the carrier’s national reefer manager, Gareth Madsen, who has left for Dubai on promotion. “Over and above the matter of capacity, there are some challenges with regard to reefer equipment, on top of which the whole move from portholes to integrals is going to add some complexity to South African port operations. But we are moving into different technologies which are going make life a lot easier from a client and consumer point of view.” Hailed by his colleagues as a “good, supportive, manager,” Madsen holds the portfolio general manager for reefers in West and Central Asia and will as such be responsible for the line’s overall business in 15 countries including India, Pakistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka. Madsen shares Cairns’ view that India, which still receives a strong component of reefer cargo from southern hemisphere markets, has great potential from a South African reefer export perspective, particularly as the (Indian) population is enjoying better living standards.