Container exports to grow further, imports to remain flat – Maersk

5th March 2014

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Container exports from South Africa were expected to record 5% to 10% growth in 2014, following the more than 10% growth seen in 2013, said Maersk Line South Africa trade executive Matthew Conroy on Wednesday.

Imported containerised cargo grew 5% in 2013 in South Africa. However, strong growth in the first quarter of the year petered out to flat growth in weak second, third and fourth quarters as rand strength decimated import volumes, with low consumer confidence also taking its toll, said Conroy.

Maersk Line is the shipping business of the Danish Maersk conglomerate, and the world’s largest container shipping company, with Southern African shipping company Safmarine a member of the group.

Between 30% and 35% of container exports from South Africa were chrome and manganese, with 20% to 25% refrigerated cargo, such as fruit. The remainder comprised cargo such as paper, food, beverages and automotive products.


Refrigerated export container cargo grew 8% in 2013 on the back of a good farming season in South Africa, and a relatively poor European crop.

South Africa’s largest containerised cargo trading partner is Asia, said Conroy.

Exports to Asia grew by 3%, to 50% of the total, in 2013. Europe came in at around 30%, and the Middle East and India at 10%.

Trade into Africa made up less than 5% of total container flow, and was heavily skewed towards exports from South Africa, noted Maersk Line South Africa MD Jonathan Horn.

The biggest African markets to and from which Maersk and Safmarine moved goods were Kenya, Angola and Nigeria.

Conroy said the outlook for the South African container market  in 2014 was “more of the same”.

Global commodity demand and the exchange rate would continue to have a large impact on container flows.

In the absence of any rand strengthening, imported containerised cargo would most likely be flat in 2014 on last year’s numbers.

However, while container exports in general could continue to grow, refrigerated cargo was expected to be “well down” on 2013, noted Conroy.

This would be owing to smaller crop outputs of several fruit varieties, with unseasonal weather such as hail and late frost causing havoc in this sector.

Table grape output alone would be down 25% to 30%, noted Horn.

Commodity exports were expected to grow by between 5% and 10% in 2014, as the US and European economies continued their recovery.

Any movement in the rand against the major currencies would only kick through to containerised cargo three to six months down the line, noted Horn.

Imports would gain should the rand strengthen, for example.

In January 2013, the local currency was at R8 to the US dollar, but now fetched around R11.

“If the rand strengthens after the elections planned for May, then we could see imports grow by as much as 10% in the late second half as retailers take advantage of the cheaper import costs,” said Horn.

He rated Coega as South Africa’s most efficient port, followed by Durban.

“We have seen improved productivity at South African ports over the last few years.”

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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