Shortage of reefer plugs stymies African growth

A shortage of reefer plugs at African ports is holding back growth in the perishable sector. According to a recent study conducted by Portoverview. com, a total of no more than 24 231 plugs exists at the top 40 African ports. “There is limited shortterm potential in realising reefer imports and exports,” said Victor Shieh, editor of Portoverview.com. “Looking at the overall availability of published reefer plugs in Africa, 73% of the overall supply is concentrated in twelve ports in Morocco, Egypt and South Africa, many of which are used for transhipment to destinations outside Africa. To improve prospects for African perishable exports, initiatives such as the new Inland Container Depots with reefer plugs in ports such as those in Tema and Mombasa are good examples of the way forward.” He said increasing capacity would have to be on the agenda of port authorities across the board – not only for increasing perishable exports and imports to Europe and Asia but also in terms of increasing intra African trade.