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.