But so far the reasons for approving the 2013 tariffs haven't been released by the Ports Regulator in an official Record of Decision.
Delegates planning to attend the African Renaissance conference in Durban between 23 and 24 May hope they will be enlightened by its strong focus on both the National Development Plan and trade and transport in Africa.
The 2013 tariff levels were announced by the Ports Regulator as the Brics Summit closed in Durban and the Easter long weekend began and came into effect four days later, on 1 April. The regulator's short statement said it had declined the National Ports Authority's proposal for a 5,4% tariff increase and was holding most tariffs at 2012/13 levels.
But cargo dues tariffs were cut sharply, especially for export. For containers, full export cargo dues were slashed by 43,2% and full import cargo dues by 14,3%. Ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off) cargo dues were cut by 21,1% for vehicles exported on their own wheels.
Though the tariff determination statement noted the reasons for the decision would "follow in due course", at the time of writing no reasons have appeared.
Holding down the authority's tariff was a move against regular criticism of SA's highly uncompetitive port costs. Improvements at Beira in Mozambique, are making it a port that can capture plenty of East and Central African trade from SA and is doing so, warned various transport industry sources at Tourism Indaba 2013 in Durban recently.
"Our Record of Decision will give technical detail on the economic assumptions, inflation rate, cost of capital, applied risk and other key factors which guided the calculation of the 2013 tariff," promised Chris Lötter, Ports Regulator manager: economic regulation, policy, strategy and research.
While shippers, importers and exporters work with the currently opaque 2013 tariffs until March next year, focus at the Ports Regulator now seems to be on the proposed pricing strategy. Trade and industry minister Rob Davies has underlined the need to encourage the export of manufactured and beneficiated goods, reversing the current situation where it's cheaper to import manufactured goods or export bulk commodities.
Agricultural Business Chamber's chief executive John Purchase suggests farmers exporting bulk crops might simply switch to using containers.
But Bridgette Radebe of the SA Mining Development Association doesn't see a problem with beneficiation: "It's not difficult, it's simply that mining houses have traditionally said 'our job is only mining'. But they can extend their offering or go into partnership," she says.
Source: Financial Mail via I-Net Bridge
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
