Importers Opt For Dar Over Mombasa Port As August Polls Approach

As the August 9 General Elections is approaching, a latest trend has shown that traders from landlocked countries are slowing down on the use of Mombasa port.

The Star reported that the traders from Uganda among other landlocked countries are using the Dar es Salaam port as Kenya prepares for the polls.

The Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) noted that the Dar es Salaam port has experienced a spike in imports and exports in the last one month.

“Dar es Salaam is congested despite the low number vessels coming into the region, meaning there is a lot of trade going on along the Central Corridor

“One of the reasons is likely to be that traders are using the alternative route to import and export. We have seen a drop in volumes for Mombasa in the last few months,” SCEA chief executive Gilbert Langat said.

However, SCEA noted that the cause of increased activities at Dar es Salaam is yet to be established and it is in the process of conducting a survey.

According to the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association ( KIFWA) there has been increased export of minerals from DR Congo through Dar.

Uganda accounts for 83.2 per cent of transit cargo through the port of Mombasa while South Sudan takes up 9.9 per cent of transit volumes.

On the other hand, Rwanda accounts for 2.4 per cent while DRC accounted for 7.2 per cent of transit volumes through the port.

The EAC region is served by two major corridors; the 1,700 kilometre long Northern Corridor that runs between Kenya, Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern D.R. Congo.

It is also served by the 1,300 kilometre long Central Corridor which serves Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eastern DR Congo with an exit and entry point at the port of Dar-es-Salaam.

The two corridors facilitate export and import activities within the EAC region with a combination of rail, road and lake transportation networks.