Grape growers’ Walvis export plan hampered
• MSC involvement opens doors
A lack of adequate trucking and storage facilities may present grape producers with no other option but to revert to exports through Cape Town.
Despite an interest from grape growers to export their produce through the port of Walvis Bay, a lack of capacity in-country prevents the port’s utilisation as an exit point, an official in the industry has revealed.
A recent attempt to export grapes through the port of Cape Town, which producers usually utilise, also failed due to strong winds and port officials’ inability to properly load containers of fresh produce onto shipping vessels.
The awarding of a concession by the Namibia Ports Authority (NamPort) for the operations of the container terminal to the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) Terminal Investment Company is said to have been warmly received by industry participants and could serve as a boon, despite the greater distance to port.
The company was awarded a contract to run the Walvis Bay container terminal in October last year. The news has opened up new possibilities for the industry, even though Walvis Bay is over 900 kilometres further from the Aussenkehr Valley than Cape Town, agricultural news website FreshPlaza reported.
A lack of adequate trucking and storage facilities may, however, present grape producers with no other option but to revert to Cape Town, the official said.
Great news
“It is great news for our economy. The Walvis Bay terminal will be busy, trucks will be filling up locally, domestic logistics and border paperwork will be minimised too.
"The only challenge is that Namibia does not have a sufficient number of reefer container trucks. Tender adverts were placed, but only less than 20 trucks in Namibia meet the requirements. As a result, South African trucks are doing the transport from Aussenkehr to Walvis Bay,” the official said.
Still on the table
Namibia Grape Company CEO Gideon Nuunyango referred all Namibian Sun enquiries on the matter to the Namibian Grape Growers Association.
There, Carike Johnson was equally mum, choosing not to comment on the developments.
“Options [to exit through Walvis Bay] are still on the table, but there are still many conversations and a lot of planning needed to use it successfully. At this stage, costs would, however, be significantly higher,” Johnson was quoted as saying in FreshPlaza.
Namibia exported nine million cartons weighing 4.5 kilograms each for the 2021/2022 season, according to FreshPlaza.
Of the total amount of grapes grown in Namibia, only 2% is reserved for the local market.
A recent attempt to export grapes through the port of Cape Town, which producers usually utilise, also failed due to strong winds and port officials’ inability to properly load containers of fresh produce onto shipping vessels.
The awarding of a concession by the Namibia Ports Authority (NamPort) for the operations of the container terminal to the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) Terminal Investment Company is said to have been warmly received by industry participants and could serve as a boon, despite the greater distance to port.
The company was awarded a contract to run the Walvis Bay container terminal in October last year. The news has opened up new possibilities for the industry, even though Walvis Bay is over 900 kilometres further from the Aussenkehr Valley than Cape Town, agricultural news website FreshPlaza reported.
A lack of adequate trucking and storage facilities may, however, present grape producers with no other option but to revert to Cape Town, the official said.
Great news
“It is great news for our economy. The Walvis Bay terminal will be busy, trucks will be filling up locally, domestic logistics and border paperwork will be minimised too.
"The only challenge is that Namibia does not have a sufficient number of reefer container trucks. Tender adverts were placed, but only less than 20 trucks in Namibia meet the requirements. As a result, South African trucks are doing the transport from Aussenkehr to Walvis Bay,” the official said.
Still on the table
Namibia Grape Company CEO Gideon Nuunyango referred all Namibian Sun enquiries on the matter to the Namibian Grape Growers Association.
There, Carike Johnson was equally mum, choosing not to comment on the developments.
“Options [to exit through Walvis Bay] are still on the table, but there are still many conversations and a lot of planning needed to use it successfully. At this stage, costs would, however, be significantly higher,” Johnson was quoted as saying in FreshPlaza.
Namibia exported nine million cartons weighing 4.5 kilograms each for the 2021/2022 season, according to FreshPlaza.
Of the total amount of grapes grown in Namibia, only 2% is reserved for the local market.
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