The Horticultural Development Council of Zimbabwe welcomes the re-introduced possibility of loading out through Beira - the average transit time from Zimbabwe to Beira is around 18 hours - while also concerned by a news report in Zimbabwean media that created the impression that fruit destined for China was also currently leaving from this port.
The council wishes to reiterate that Zimbabwean citrus exported to China adheres to all phytosanitary requirements and is therefore only loaded out from the port of Durban.
“Beira Port is not approved for the movement of citrus to China; under the protocol this can only be done through South Africa,” states Linda Nielsen, the CEO of the Horticultural Development Council of Zimbabwe.
The port of Beira in central Mozambique seen from above
“So far, we’ve exported 10 x 40’ reefers of lemons via Beira Port over three different vessels. All of these have been shipped to Jebel Ali, Dubai for the Middle East market, with all fruit originating from Macheke.”
She points out that no lemons have been exported to China from Zimbabwe at all.
In future, that might change as access through that port would be a potential game-changer for Zimbabwe. "We are in discussion with a number of entities that are interested in developing cold storage in Beira," Linda says.
Proof of concept achieved
It is currently low export season out of Beira and coupled with slight temporary changes to the voyage schedule, but she expects transit time to soon revert back to the average of 16 days between Zimbabwe and the Middle East.
“The average dwell time of the containers once packed to shipped on board is currently 9 days, of which 7 days are in our facility and 2 days in the port prior to loading," says Justin Jahme of Transcom Sharaf, a Beira-based logistics service provider.
"With the new permissions from Cornelder, Beira's port operator, for fresh produce from Zimbabwe and for clearance and shunting extensions, the average dwell time can be reduced going forward.”
Justin continues: “We note that suppliers are investigating options to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and we have other producers, of different commodities, looking at possibilities into India as well. We are happy that we have achieved the proof of concept, and hopefully can get solid commitments to further invest into cold storage options for extra flexibility and a wider range of export and import produce going forward.”
For more information:
Linda Nielsen
Horticultural Development Council of Zimbabwe
Email: info@hdczim.com
https://www.hdczim.com/