Shippers switch focus from Eurozone to Africa

Once a lucrative and almost sure export destination, especially for South Africa’s perishable goods, the Eurozone has become a stagnant market in recent times. With the continent experiencing a major meltdown, perishable exporters are having to find other markets for their products, according to Credit Guarantee. “Fish, fruit and wine exporters are starting to look at new potential markets and already a discernible move is evident,” says Theo Reddi, general manager exports at Credit Guarantee. “And perhaps a little surprisingly, African markets are starting to reflect a far greater importance as new doors open for trade. We have maintained an intensive and very credible association with information sources throughout the continent and our approach of literally getting feet on the ground in those markets is now paying dividends.” According to Reddi, the importance of experienced partners in the African market cannot be underestimated. “The fact that we can pick up a phone or drop an email to a person that we already have an established relationship with in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania or others in West Africa, for example, allows us to generate much more influence when underwriting trade credit into many of these expanding markets. Delivering the best possible opinion linked with well reasoned assessments of the potential risks in these countries, empowers our exporters to explore new contracts that would otherwise have gone begging,” he said. INSERT: ‘The importance of experienced partners in the African market cannot be underestimated