MAPUTO – Either SA citrus exports from the Port of Maputo must be increased to volumes equal to those routinely shipped out earlier this decade or shipments from Maputo could become unviable. “We have started an initiative to restore export volumes from Maputo,” Mitchell Brooke, logistics coordinator for the Citrus Growers’ Association told FTW last week. In the past five years, the number of pallets bearing SA citrus out of Maputo has dropped by some 50%, from 120 000 annually to 60 000, leaving empty space at the terminal that has been leased by FPT with International Harbour Services for the past decade. Port authorities want the terminal to be better utilised or they may enter into a lease with another entity that can make fuller use of the facility. “From a producer’s perspective Maputo makes more sense than Durban because it is closer to Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Swaziland, which is the Maputo port’s natural hinterland. There is a transport cost saving. There’s less congestion at Maputo and its use by South African citrus shippers would help alleviate the congestion at Durban,” said Brooke. However, the downside to Maputo, and the explanation why citrus shipping out of the harbour has been halved during the past half decade, is that citrus shipments are increasingly containerised, and the Port of Maputo does not have direct containerised services to citrus markets. Maputo does offer shipping services for non-containerised citrus to the key SA citrus markets, the UK and northern Europe. “This is what makes our goal of raising shipments to 100 000 pallets a year achievable. We are looking at ways of making Maputo more attractive for those shipping SA citrus to the UK and northern Europe,” said Brooke. To achieve this goal, 5 000 pallets a week during the annual citrus shipping season (which runs for approximately 20 weeks) would be required. Brooke said this was possible with a volume commitment from participating exporters. Last week the Citrus Growers’ Association held talks with citrus exporters, shipping lines and port authorities from Maputo to discuss these and other issues.
