‘Tough times ahead as volumes contract’

Freight forwarders and transport operators alike are feeling the pinch in Botswana where volumes are down despite growth in the economy. According to Tsimane Brixton Mogami, managing director of Zebra Shipping in Gaborone, things were looking up earlier in the year, but since June there has been a major volume decline. “We were all preparing for a peak season but instead we now have a quiet time on our hands where there is not much else to do but sit and wait it out. The first global recession hit Botswana quite badly and now there is talk of a second recession. It does not bode well for business in a landlocked country.” This is despite Botswana’s economy growing by 9.6% in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the 2.2% contraction in the first quarter of the year. “We have had some other major factors which have impacted negatively,” said Mogami, “such as the foot and mouth disease that has hit the beef industry, our second largest market.” The huge influx of Chinese into the market has also resulted in many companies feeling the pinch. “The Chinese for the most part don’t use local companies or labour and prefer to do it all themselves. These turnkey projects are not benefiting local business as much as they should,” said Mogami. And with transport costs exceptionally high as in most of the SADC region, freight forwarders and transporters are in for a rough time, he said.