AfricaReport Imports outweigh exports


“There is so much competition in the import air freight market as against the export air freight market because Nigeria depends majorly on imports,” observes Eric Opah, group CEO of Lagos-headquartered forwarder Fortune Global. “This dependence on


imports makes it very lucrative for carriers and forwarders to move their services to Nigeria because of the high freight rates on cargo, especially to Lagos air- port,” he noted. However, on the return leg


cargo suffers from the same import/export imbalance. Nigeria’s major export these


days is oil, and Fortune Global is currently a strong player in oil and gas logistics, he went on. Other exports include cocoa, cotton and wood. Opah also drew attention to


there are a number of carriers that often struggle to fill their aircraft, a situation that raises air freight rates. The country has a high volume of ocean


shipments due to the cheaper prices available on that mode – although, Opah pointed out, ocean


Opah outlines plans for expansion in Nigeria and beyond


the fact that the company is a member of various forwarder and logistics networks, which allow it to offer international coverage and afford opportuni- ties for growth. With offices in Lagos, Warri,


Port Harcourt and Abuja, For- tune Global intends to open in


Kano in the north of Nigeria and Cotonou in Benin. There are also plans to expand to Customs bonded terminal operations.


AN-124 supports UN in Sudan


Ruslan International – the company that markets and man- ages the combined AN-124 fleets of its shareholders Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr Airlines – has organised 15 flights using the giant freighter aircraft from Tokyo-Narita and Chitose in Japan to Entebbe in Uganda on behalf of the Japanese peace-keeping contingent of the United Nations Mission in Sudan. The 13,000km flights carried non-combat vehicles, power


generators, communications equipment and other supplies for the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. Smaller aircraft and road transport were used to take the


shipments from Entebbe to their final destination in southern Sudan. Michael Goodisman, Ruslan International business devel-


opment manager, commented: “The AN-124 once again came into its own because of the variety and bulk of many of the items being moved. The large fleet at our disposal also enabled us to provide the assurance of performance that is demanded in large-scale missions such as this.”


South African screening rules to be tightened


According to Eytan Nevo, man- aging director of ACTS (the African Consultancy for Trans- portation Security): “We’re still waiting for the updated cargo regulations from the Civil Avia- tion Authority, which will tighten the oversight of air cargo security and will also give us access to more clients as people will not be allowed to use older methods and technology for screening.” The new regulations will be


in line with EU requirements, removing the need to screen Europe-bound cargo twice. In addition, the rules will be


Nevo: “rhino horn smuggling is a huge issue”


more strict. They are expected to set standards for canine detection, include audits and train- ing procedures, provide technical standards


for X-ray machines, stipulate a higher level of training for screeners and call for the dis- continuation of outdated screening methods. As for ACTS, which pro-


vides RASCargO Remote Air Sampling for Canine Olfaction (RASCO) in conjunction with France’s DiagNose: “We’ve just brought in a new dog to sniff for rhino horn and ivory. Rhino horn smuggling is a huge issue here,” Nevo lamented. ACTS is still in Johannes-


burg, he said. “Training and keeping the dogs is a large


investment and we don’t yet have the volumes to grow... We still want to expand to Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth.”


➤


Ghana airports expect rise in traffic


As part of its plan to establish Accra’s Kotoka International air- port as a hub for sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana Airports Company (GAC) has issued a proposal for public and private financial support to develop both Kotoka and the country’s domestic gateways. The airport operator noted that high demand at Kotoka for


slots from both existing carriers and new airlines is attributable to the start of oil production in Ghana, which will lead to increasing passenger numbers, greater cargo volumes and rising revenues in coming years. However, significant investment is required to ensure suffi-


cient capacity to handle the extra demand that is forecast, GAC said. According to US-based LPA group, which has produced a


master plan covering the period up to 2025 for Kotoka airport, a total of US$405 million will be required for various projects at the Accra gateway, where freight throughput is expected to


reach 49,325 tonnes in 2013. nStatistics from GAC show that its gateways processed 50,260 tonnes of freight in 2011; 22,907 tonnes of the total were inbound cargo and the remaining 27,353 tonnes comprised outbound shipments.


7 May 2012 Page 9


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