Focus on shipments of Namibian grapes through Walvis Bay this season has benefited export logistics
This season the shipment of table grapes through the port of Walvis Bay increased significantly, relieving pressure on Cape Town.
“Table grape volumes exported via the Port of Walvis Bay nearly doubled this season compared with last season,” said Herman Redelinghuys, head of grapes at Capespan.
Speaking at an industry meeting, Redelinghuys said that 3.62mn cartons were shipped through Walvis Bay this year, compared with 1.83mn cartons last year.
This was mainly due to an increase in the number of container vessels calling at the port this year. Seven vessels called at the port compared with three last season.
“Vessels loaded and sailed every seven to ten days,” he confirmed.
Prior to the season, Capespan said it had embarked on a strategy regarding increased shipments through Walvis Bay due to the poor performance of the South African ports the company traditionally utilised.
“This is done because the Walvis Bay port is operated by a private company and the introduction and reliability of the additional MSC services out of Walvis Bay,” Capespan had announced.
The company said the MSC service offered a shortened voyage transit time of 12 to 13 days directly to Rotterdam and London Gateway, minimising delays and ensuring fresher fruit arrived at destination.
“This means a transit time which is at least eight days shorter than the voyage from the Port of Cape Town,” Capespan stated.
Redelinghuys noted that the increase in vessel frequency had positively impacted fruit dwell time.
“Fruit age from intake until arrival was on average seven days less for shipments out of Walvis Bay, compared with shipments out of Cape Town,” he said, explaining that increased utilisation of Walvis Bay had helped relieve pressure on the Cape Town port.
Redelinghuys said the distance to the port should be factored in commercial decisions.
“Aussenkehr, for example, is situated 1,240km from Walvis Bay, compared with 734km from Cape Town,” he continued. ”Kakamas is situated 1,512km from Walvis Bay compared with 853km from Cape Town.
“A longer distance to the port means increased landside costs, which should be considered holistically when evaluating costs vs. arrival time to market.”
Logistics service provider GoGlobal, one of the leading service providers to the Namibian grape export industry, told Fruitnet that it had also increased use of the Walvis Bay port.
Chief executive Delena Engelbrecht said the operator had enjoyed a very good season in handling exports out of Namibia, both through Walvis Bay and Cape Town.
The total grape export volume from Namibia of around 9.2mn cartons ended up slightly short of the forecast.
It also indicated that around 40 per cent of the crop was shipped through Walvis Bay this year.
