Lagos-Jo’burg cargo exportation increases to 40%

The level of exportation of cargo between Nigeria and South Africa has increased to 40 percent as against the 10 percent to 90 percent which it used to be.

This is just as Nigeria has been identified as the biggest cargo market for South Africa eventhough security remains the only challenge to the growth of the business on both sides.Tleli Makhetha, General Manager South African Airways (SAA), Cargo at Lagos customer luncheon and award presentation during the week, said trade within Africa continues to grow at a phenomenal rate adding that SAA Cargo and its partners would a key role in facilitating trade within the continent.

“Nigeria is SAA Cargo’s biggest African market outside South Africa, this is testimony to the growth in trade between Nigeria and South Africa, Africa’s two biggest economies. It is noteworthy to say that Lagos-Johannesburg cargo services not only connect Nigeria and South Africa but West Africa and Southern Africa”.

He noted that though, a lot of work is being done to ensure that cargos being exported from Nigeria are safe, many still express concern about cargo security saying that such has informed their switch of ground handler to the Skyway Aviation Handling company which he said have some state of the art facilities.

“SAA Cargo has also recently appointed SAHCOL as our Ground Handling Agent in Lagos. In the few months that SAHCOL has been our Ground Handling Agent, we have received feedback from customers about the improvement in the services offerings and efficiency with which the cargo is handled.

“We are conscious of the fact that Security is the biggest challenge in the movement of air cargo globally. We are committed to working with all the participants in the air cargo logistics chain to make sure that we maintain our reputation as a safe and security focused airline. When the

whole world understand that we and our customers care about safety and security our business operates much smoother and the cargo is delivered much quicker.

“A key development in the improvement of the Air Cargo Logistics chain is the increase use of the Electronic Communication. We have invested a huge amount of money in IT enhancement and have made sure that our partners are trained to use the system.