Farmers Shift to Green-Gold Eying Export Markets
Last August, 24tn of avocado harvested from Koga, near Bahir Dar in Amhara Regional State, was shipped to Europe. Packed in refrigerated containers, the avocado arrived in the United Kingdom three weeks shipped from the Port of Djibouti.
Compliance with hygiene, packaging and product quality standards determines when targeting the export market. Here is where the government should come in handy to commercial farmers, says Tewodros Zewdie, executive director for the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers Exporters Association (EHPEA). Making land available, training and agro-logistics services are some of the ingredients the Director believes are lacking.
The biggest challenge is perhaps transportation. The unavailability of refrigerated containers in Ethiopia, coupled with the high cost of air and ship transportation, has stunted the growth of avocado exports.
Read More at:
Africa records highest growth in September cargo volumes
Africa witnessed the highest growth in international freight cargo volumes in September compared to any other region in the world as the airlines continue recovery from the impact of Covid-19.
Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicates that Africa recorded a 34.6 percent growth in the review period to mark a ninth consecutive increase on month to month.
The volumes, according to IATA, are 20 percent above the pre-crisis 2019 levels but have been trending sideways for the past six months.
“African airlines’ saw international cargo volumes increase by 34.6 percent in September, the largest increase of all regions for the ninth consecutive month,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
All the regions across the world saw their cargo volumes increase, an indicator that the aviation sector is now more dependent on cargo in the wake of dwindling number of passengers seeking air travel.
European carriers saw a 5.3 percent increase in international cargo volumes in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2019.
Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 17.6 percent rise in international cargo volumes in September 2021 when compared to September 2019, an improvement compared to the previous month. However, international capacity was down four percent compared to September 2019.
North American carriers posted a 19.3 percent increase in international cargo volumes in September 2021 compared to September 2019.
Read More at:
DP World launches e-commerce platform DUBUY.com in Kenya
Backed by leading global logistics provider DP World, DUBUY.com opened a new digital trade corridor for Kenya and the East Africa region.
The wholesale platform brings efficient, reliable B2B e-commerce to Kenya, enabling market access for businesses of all sizes; It will add new digital trading corridors to the physical corridors DP World has built across the African continent with its investment in ports, terminals, and logistics operations.
DUBUY.com is an innovative online marketplace that will help unlock access to global markets for Kenyan businesses, with fulfilment through DP World’s worldwide ports and logistics network. With eight existing terminals on the African continent and three more in development, DP World is creating a strategic trading gateway into East Africa.
Read More at:
Higher freight rates push Hapag-Lloyd 9-months revenue up 71%
Container carrier Hapag-Lloyd reported a 71 percent increase in revenue to $17.9 billion for the first nine months of 2021 compared to $10.5 billion in 9-months of 2020 on higher freight rates.
The average freight rate zoomed 66 percent to $1,818/TEU compared to $1,097/TEU in the year-ago period. Transport volume increased 3.3% to 8.9 million TEUs. “The development of volumes was negatively affected by the ongoing disruption to global supply chains.”
The first nine months of the 2021 financial year were dominated by continuing strong demand for transport from the Far East to the rest of the world and the resulting operational challenges, the statement added. “The sharp rise in transport volumes and the effects of the COVID-19 protective measures led to congestion of port and hinterland infrastructure in North America and, increasingly, in Asia and Europe as well.”
Despite all the operational challenges, we achieved an extraordinarily strong nine-month result, said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO, Hapag-Lloyd.
Read More at:
- https://www.logupdateafrica.com/-higher-freight-rates-push-hapaglloyd-9months-revenue-up-71–shipping
UN warns of soaring prices in 2022 due to freight rate spike
The United Nations warned that a surge in container freight rates could mean higher prices for consumers next year unless pandemic-fuelled problems are untangled.
The UN’s trade and development agency (UNCTAD) said global import price levels could increase by 11 percent and consumer price levels by 1.5 percent between now and 2023.
“Global consumer prices will rise significantly in the year ahead until shipping supply chain disruptions are unblocked and port constraints and terminal inefficiencies are tackled,” UNCTAD said in its Review of Maritime Transport 2021 report.
Global supply chains faced unprecedented demand from the second half of 2020 onwards as consumers spent on goods rather than services during coronavirus lockdowns. But the upswing in demand hit several practical constraints, including container ship carrying capacity, container shortages, labour shortages, congestion at ports and Covid-19 restrictions.
Still, the pandemic’s impact on maritime trade volumes last year was less severe than initially expected, UNCTAD said.
While bottlenecks have hindered the economic recovery, the pandemic could trigger far-reaching transformations in maritime transport, UNCTAD predicted.
The crisis has activated digitalisation and automation, which should, in turn, deliver efficiency and cost savings.
Meanwhile, e-commerce accelerated by the pandemic has changed consumer shopping habits and spending patterns, according to the report.
“This could generate new business opportunities for shipping and ports,” said UNCTAD.
Read More at:
