Stronger rand dents volumes

New Zambian mining ventures augur well for future VOLUMES INTO and out of Africa have declined by approximately 25% over the past year for cross border road haulage company CARS Transport. This was due mainly to the repercussions of the stronger rand on exports and the reaction of traders to the relatively high Durban port charges, says a company spokesman. “Importers and exporters into Africa to our north appear to have turned to alternative channels to move their goods – Malawi through Nacala and Beira and Zambia and the DRC through Dar es Salaam - as they have found the port charges to be substantially lower than those of Durban. “Zimbabwe on the other hand is faced with an ongoing foreign exchange shortage which has continued to curtail the movement of goods between that country and South Africa.” On a more positive note, CARS is confident that new mining ventures in Zambia and the surge in agriculture in that country augur well for future trade. “In addition, co-operation between SARS and ZIMRA has recently opened the door for pre-clearances at Beit Bridge which has improved the turnaround times of all vehicles using this border post.” The company is currently focused on the latest addition to its service range, a fully bonded
4 500m² warehousing facility. “We intend it to fully functional by August this year, in time for the tobacco exports from Zambia and Malawi. CARS’ operations cover South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and the southern part of the DRC with border present at Beit Bridge, Chirundu, Nyamapanda and Kasumbalesa.