Namport fails to attract regional perishable cargo

The success of the Namibian Ports
Authority (Namport), which manages
the ports of Walvis Bay and Luderitz,
to entice SADC nations to use those
facilities is evident in the overall rise
of volumes, but SA remains the only
regional nation to use the ports to
export perishables.
When asked if the SADC campaign
was paying off for regional perishable
exports, Jo-Ann Stevens of Namport’s
marketing department told FTW that
SA exporters were shipping frozen
meat through the port of Walvis Bay.
Meat shipments are moved to port
by road but the picture is a little
broader when sea transport is
factored in.
“The South African shippers do
make use of the port for frozen fish
which comes from SA to Namibia by
sea in containers. But less frozen fish
than frozen meat is shipped through
the port of Walvis Bay,” Stevens said.
SA shipping volumes through
the port have grown substantially.
During the 2008/2009 financial year
cargo handled from SA to Namibia
amounted to 3 080 787 tonnes.
For the financial year now coming
to an end, volumes have risen to
4 408 086 tonnes.
There is no shortage of cold
storage capacity at Walvis Bay to
accommodate larger volumes of
perishables. Following an
expansion exercise, the port has
five cold stores with a total capacity
of 15 000 metric tonnes. The port
warehouses have a combined capacity
of 19 000 metric tonnes.
424 reefer plugs are on hand to
power boxes, and Namport says
electricity supplies are reliable.