Logistics firms, exporters outraged over Djiboutian authorities ‘anomalies’
Ethiopian logistics companies and exporters blame Djiboutian authorities of imposing unprecedented bureaucratic impediments and exorbitant service charges.
Djibouti is Ethiopia’s principal port of entry for imports and exports. Over 90 percent of the nation’s imports and exports go through the ports of Djibouti.
According to the companies, the Djibouti Customs Authorities have made it difficult for Ethiopian logistics companies and exporters to operate.
“Djibouti Customs is creating a significant challenge for Ethiopia’s exports, creating hectic procedures for us. As a result, Ethiopian trucks have been standing in Djibouti for days,” a manager of one of the leading logistics firms in Addis Ababa.
Even after full filling documents including consignee, notification letter, and many other requirements, Ethiopian traders say they are being asked “unnecessary documents”.
Djiboutian authorities have also raised fees for a variety of services. Ethiopian firms are being charged between USD 65 and USD 70 to finalize a truck paper.
Another logistics company manager expressed concern about the excessive bureaucracy. “Ethiopia and Djibouti have reached an agreement. However, Ethiopian authorities have no say over the transactions and port services provided in Djibouti. Djiboutian authorities have no authority over us,” the manager said.
Abebe Tefera, head of the Ethiopian Maritime Authority (EMA) branch in Djibouti, says that the Ethiopian government is already working to resolve the issue. He claims that the operations committee formed in Djibouti is actively working.
“EMA’s Djibouti branch office occasionally receives complaints from export truck drivers about long lines,” Abebe stated. “We intervene to solve the problem by discussing it with their agents.”
Read More at:
DMP Switches To International Transshipment Of Vehicles
The Multipurpose Port of Doraleh (DMP) received a ship, from the MOL line, MV Aquarius ACE which unloaded 277 vehicles for transshipments bound for Europe.
DMP has truly become a vehicle transshipment hub. By definition, transshipments is the action of shipping goods or containers to an intermediate destination and then to another destination.
The transshipments activity is on the right track, during the past year, the volumes and performance have increased and as proof, just with the MOL line it closed the year with a significant increase of 90% in traffic compared to the fiscal year 2022. The port has played its role of bursting traffic to the ports of the region, namely Jeddah, Mombassa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Sokhna.
In 2023, the policy of the general management is to set the bar even higher by positioning itself as an International Transshipment Port with the largest volume from Chennai bound for Europe, more precisely at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium.
The first international transshipments vehicles were unloaded on March 23 by the vessel MV Aquarius ACE.
Read More at:
2023 Narrowing Airline Revenue Gap Compared To 2022: AFRAA
The year 2023 is witnessing a narrowing of airline revenue gap compared to 2022 says The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in its March 2023 African airline’s performance update.
In the first 3 months of the year, African airlines missed the levels attained in a similar period in 2019 by US$0.3 billion. This is expected to further narrow in the second quarter to US$0.2 billion according to AFRAA. Though the full year estimated revenue gap is yet to be computed, it appears 2023 will be a better year compared to the prior year. The 2022 full year revenue loss was US$3.5 billion for all African airlines combined.
Blocked funds Nigeria, with US$743 million of airline-blocked funds, is currently ranked the second highest in the world after Venezuela. An AFRAA survey indicates that 3 African airlines alone, have about $44.2 million blocked in Nigeria. These 3 AFRAA airlines have a total of US$88.9 million blocked in 12 African countries at the end of 2022. Aside Nigeria, other African countries with blocked funds at the end of 2022 include Algeria, Libya, Cameroon, The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Conakry, Burundi, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe. AFRAA is continuing its advocacy on blocked funds.
Read More at:
