Cargo traffic grows at major ports – Mozambique

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Cargo traffic grows at major ports – Mozambique

10:43 CAT | 31 Aug 2017

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Mozambique’s main seaports registered an increase in cargo movement in the first half of this year, the government announced.

Cargo handling in the first six months of 2017 grew 23 percent against the same period in 2016, Mozambican newspaper Notícias quotes Transport and Communications Minister Carlos Mesquita as saying.

Minister Mesquita attributed the growth to the stabilisation of prices in the international market for Mozambican exports such as coal, sugar and cotton.

However, “the volume of cargo we have been handling is below the total installed port capacity, which is in the order of 74 million tons,” he added.

Even larger numbers, fuelled by exports from the primary sector, are expected in the coming months, since “the second half of each year is always the most active”.

Mesquita was speaking on Tuesday during a visit to the Mozambican Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Fair (Facim), the country’s main business event, which runs until 3 September on the outskirts of Maputo.

The minister stressed the importance of entrepreneurs taking advantage of the logistics corridors that cross the country, echoing President Nyusi, who said at the fair’s inauguration on Monday that the railroads connecting Mozambique to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland and Malawi were assets that must be capitalised on.

Source: Lusa