REGIONAL DISINTEGRATION
Overland freight costs strangle trade with neighbours, study shows
Overland freight prices in Southern Africa remain higher than in other regions, global think-tank research shows
It is cheaper for SA to import animal feedstock or sugar from Brazil than from Zambia because of the excessive costs of overland cross-border freight, according to a new research paper by a global think-tank. Benchmarking exercises on overland cross-border freight in Southern Africa indicate that transport costs are in some cases twice what they should be and this is encouraging deepwater imports, according to a paper from UN University, a postgraduate teaching organisation involved in collaborative research and education. The paper was presented at a November conference with the Treasury and the think-tank. Despite lower input costs than international competitors, border inefficiencies mean it is cheaper for SA to import sugar and animal feed from South America than from some of the countries in the Southern African region. "Prices charged for overland cross-border freight in Southern Africa remain higher than in other regions, even though many of the input costs of road transport ...
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