Mozambique’s Port of Beira recorded cargo volume growth of 122%, reaching a historic high of 442 000 tonnes in July compared with the same period in July 2023.
Miguel de Jenga, operations director of Cornelder de Moçambique, the concessionaire of the Port of Beira, highlighted the record volume during a broadcast on Radio Moçambique (RM) on Monday.
He said volumes at the country’s second-largest port, in Sofala province, had grown from 199 000 tonnes in July 2023.
De Jenga said during the first seven months of 2024, the port’s general cargo terminal had recorded a volume increase of 24% compared with the same period in 2023. The container terminal also recorded significant growth of 40 per cent, handling 226 000 containers compared with 160 000 for the same period last year.
RM reported that the significant increase in cargo volumes handled had been mainly due to the growth in imports of clinker and corn for the domestic market, and because of the marked rise in wheat, equipment and sulphur imports that were destined for neighbouring countries.
The port has also achieved geographical diversification as new countries have been included on its list of those serviced, most notably Zambia, which relies on it for the export of eucalyptus and manganese.
Zimbabwe remains the largest user of the port for the export of products such as chrome, lithium, petalite and tobacco.
