Transit volumes destined for
Zambia are on the increase
but Durban port inefficiency is
holding back further growth,
according to Aileen Ryan of
Celtic Freight.
South African customs is
also not helping the situation.
“In our business we are
finding that customs is
hampering trade, with punitive
penalties being levied even
for the export of local goods.
There seems to be a very real
attempt to increase revenue at
exit ports.
“Education of the actual
clerks doing the tariff checking
would help significantly,” she
said, “while revenue collection
must not be the driving force,
but rather the facilitation of
trade.”
The Celtic team remains
upbeat about future growth.
“Celtic will always be bullish
when it comes to business into
Zambia,” said Ryan. “Nothing
has changed in our 20 years of
servicing Zambia in that the
forwarding businesses prefer
to use a specialist in a region
or on a route. Information is
key – and with our continued
development of technology
we are putting full disclosure
and detailed tracking into our
agents’ hands.”
