Page 11 - LUA November December 2024 Issue for website

Kenya. They also apply to other countries Thus logistics infrastructure plays a
in Africa. For instance, Visser took the crucial role in enabling the exports of
example of the West African countries African perishables and experts point out
Ivory Coast and Benin. “Ivory Coast has the need to fill in the gaps and upgrade the
a relatively well developed fresh export infra to move forward.
industry. They are able to even export fresh For instance, Osam Iyahen, Senior
coconuts by sea freight. But the smaller Director and Head of Transport and
countries like Benin, that are exporting Logistics, Africa Finance Corporation
pineapples and vegetables, do not get (AFC), points out key gaps such as roads,
enough reefer containers to ship it out by cold chain infrastructure, disjointed/
sea, and have very little capacity on air fragmented value chains and absence of
freight as well.” an organised marketplace for perishables.
“People are fighting for the available Africa Finance Corporation is a pan-
volume on every single aircraft that comes African multilateral development finance
to the country,” he added. institution dedicated to accelerating
While unavailability of reefer infrastructure development and economic
containers is a big challenge in many growth across the continent.
countries, Ethiopia-Djibouti corridor Iyahen thinks that all modes of
faces a challenge that is exactly the transport in Africa have considerable
opposite. Visser pointed out that for capacity shortages that hinder export
every seven reefer containers that come ambitions. He notes rails as an important
in full to the Port of Djibouti only one mode of transport for bulk, low-cost
goes out full. movement of produce and fertiliser,
“A significant number of reefer especially connecting produce to seaports.
containers are emptied in Djibouti and “This is even more critical for
Addis Ababa for local consumption. landlocked countries that use rail to
However, many of those containers connect to seaports in neighbouring
cannot find the matching with Ethiopian countries. Current rail shortages reduce
perishable produce before travelling competitiveness,” he said.
back to the Port of Djibouti for onward He also noted the need to upgrade
shipping,” he said. sea, air freight infrastructure. “Port
While challenges differ for countries, congestion, outdated systems,
Visser urges countries to focus on building bureaucracy, all lead to delays,
consolidation centres, rail infrastructure inefficiencies and waste in the movement
and cross docking stations. of produce to export markets. Airports
While laying out the ideal logistics need to be configured to capture more
plan for African perishables, he said, “The agricultural produce movement, with
farms want the reefer to be loaded at the additional cold rooms, agricultural
farm gate, which is not a cheap solution aggregation points, etc, on site,” he added.
from a logistics perspective. Because they He also pointed out the absence of
Large growers normally need to be trucked in and truck adequate storage is one of the leading causes
can easily fill up a out. If there is a railway, there should be of post-harvest losses. “Existing storage
container, but this is a consolidation centre where all the fruits capacity is not up to required standards,
causing moisture content issues, aflatoxin
and vegetables from the region can be
almost impossible for refrigerated until loaded on the reefer issues, pest infestation and theft,” he said.
smallholder farmers. container, which then will be put on the As Kenya strives to meet global
There is a need train to the port. But some countries demand for its flowers, the current
don't have railways. Some countries have
logistics challenges underscore the fragility
for consolidated production centres of different types of of its export infrastructure. Experts
shipment and goods in different areas, which means emphasise the need for capacity building,
this increases the that you have to multiply the number of infrastructure upgrades, and hybrid
consolidation centres.”
logistics models to ensure sustainability.
complexity of quality Some countries do have consolidation With sea freight emerging as a long-term
control. centres and railroads, but don't have the alternative, stakeholders must act now to
GRIFFIN KAIGA receiving capacity at the end of the railroad transform this crisis into an opportunity
COLEAD at the port. And that's the case with for resilience and growth in the African
Djibouti, according to Visser. perishables sector.

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