Airfreight volumes into Africa are on the
increase, says Mike Todd, vice president
for Africa of wholesale airfreight
consolidator AMI.
There are, however, large rate
differences between East and West
Africa and that is all about airline
capacity into the regions.
“A large portion of the West Africa
demand is mining equipment which
tends to absorb the higher freight
costs. The rates into West Africa can
be ten times higher than to long-haul
destinations such as New York or Europe
which highlights the excess export
capacity into these destinations,” he told
FTW. “It is very much a demand versus
supply scenario at present. If you want
your goods moved then you have to pay
the rate. Where there is excess capacity,
the competition is driving rates down to
other destinations such as the Americas,
Europe and Far East.”
Todd said that while many airlines
had done a fair amount of development
in accessing African destinations, the
freight capacity was limited and was
often determined by passenger flights.
“We do see more freighter operators
coming into the Africa market, attracted
by the growth and the good yields,” he
said.
“We handle cross-trade traffic into
Africa and we see growth there too,
particularly from our China office,” said
Todd. “Increased Africa trade has been
assisted by reforms put in place, making
it easier to do business in Africa and
with more secured banking.”
He said destinations such as Lagos,
Entebbe, Dar es Salaam and Accra in
particular continued to see an increase
in freight volumes, with a lot of mining
equipment and commercial goods being
transported.
“What is very positive to note is
that Africa has not increased because
Europe has decreased but is a developing
market in its own right. International
organisations are predicting Africa
growth rates of 5- 6% for the next
few years,” he said. “It is an area of
our business on which we have placed
much emphasis and we have built
good relationships with several airlines
servicing Africa, enabling us to offer very
competitive rates to our clients.”
INSERT & CAPTION
Africa has not increased
because Europe has
decreased but is a
developing market in its
own right.
– Mike Todd
