Maersk sees wider opportunity in Africa as China trade booms

Time:2011-06-21 Browse:38 Author:RISINGSUN

MAERSK Line anticipates that Asia volumes will experience double-digit growth this year in terms of shipments of palm oil, sugar and rice to Africa as demand for food commodities surges.

"Africa is very, very strong, especially for commodities," said Thomas Knudsen, according to Newark`s Journal of Commerce. "We are seeing more cargo moving in containers pretty much everywhere in Africa - east Africa, South Africa and west Africa."


He said that busier container shipping traffic to Africa has helped offset slower business on other trade routes, such as the Asia-Europe trades, that have come under pressure from massive new capacity and slower economic growth in the west.


"But in terms of overall growth, we are not seeing any immediate signs of a slowdown [in China]," he said. "What we have seen is business migrating from the southern part of China towards the east and north, so perhaps a little bit of change in sourcing patterns," he said.


For Japan, container imports from Thailand and other Asian countries that supply industrial materials and parts to Japanese company volumes are starting to return to pre-earthquake levels, Mr Knudsen said.


Maersk has forecast total shipping demand this year will grow six to eight per cent, down from 11 per cent the previous year.