MSC sees market shift to Middle East and Gulf

A new option for perishable shippers out of the Port Elizabeth area is playing out well, thanks to the commitment of port partners and carriers like MSC Shipping. “Thanks to the foresight of our chairman Captain Salvatore Sarno in switching our vessel calls to Ngqura in October 2009 with the MSC Catania, together with TPT we have developed Ngqura into a major hub for a number of our trade lanes. I think that by doing this we have assisted our clients in the Eastern Cape by offering them this newly developed port, which has extensive reefer plug facilities. Its advantageous location has had a positive impact on their overall logistics chain requirements,” Mike Economou, director of MSC Shipping, told FTW. The company, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of shipping in South Africa, also increased its reefer capacity with another milestone – it’s the second carrier in the world to have achieved 2 000 000 TEUs in vessels’ capacity. Recent years have seen good growth in MSC’s European service, allowing the liner to become a major platform for the movement of perishables from all SA ports to Europe, Economou noted. “This year, we have seen a downward trend to Europe as a result of the economic crisis and a stronger rand, which has placed pressure on produce pricing for the exporters. This has forced them to look at alternative markets for their produce and we have seen a shift to the Middle East, USA/Canada, Far East and Angola, where MSC has a distinct presence. We have seen good growth to these areas,” he said. “We will continue to align our services to industry demand, and with the shift in market focus of our clients we have recently aligned our service to the Middle East and Gulf trade lane to service their needs. Over and above this, our Jebel Ali office ensures free-flowing operations and timely connections to the Gulf region. “The future will always present various challenges,” Economou said, “however none as important as the current problem we foresee with the RTG operations at the Port of Cape Town which become inoperative in high wind speeds, once again impacting on our service to our clients. We are presently in discussions with TPT to try to find a solution before the commencement of the dreaded south-easterly winds which will have a direct impact on all the early grapes moving to UK/ Europe.”