No shipping tariff hike
CARGO DUES: DECREASE BY 10% FOR EXPORT CONTAINERS, 3% FOR IMPORT
Move aims to boost SA’s competitiveness and lower cost of doing business.
The Ports Regulator of SA had some good news for the shipping industry on Monday but bad news for the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), with an overall average tariff increase of 19.74%rejected.
The Durban-based regulator announced that “cargo dues” on export and import containers would decrease by 10% and 3%, respectively, for the 2021-2022 financial year.
However, marine services and related tariffs (excluding container cargo dues) will increase by 5%. Coal (bulk) and magnetite export cargo dues will also increase by 5%, while all other tariffs are to remain unchanged.
This means the overall average tariff increase equates to 0%, with most income from ports coming from container cargo.
The overall move, which was welcomed by the SA Association of Shipping Operators and Agents (Saasoa), is aimed at boosting the country’s competitiveness and lowering the cost of doing business.
While TNPA had applied for an average 19.74% increase in tariffs for the period April 2021 to March 2022, it also presented indicative tariffs of - 0.29% for 2022-2023 and -7.86% for 2023-2024.
TNPA manages the country’s major ports, including Durban and Cape Town (and should not be confused with Transnet Port Terminals, which operates the terminals around the ports).
“After considering the application and the submissions made by all of the stakeholders during the consultation period and based on latest available data, the Ports Regulator has concluded that an appropriate overall increase in average tariffs for the financial year 2021-22 is 0%,” regulatory committee chair Tshisikhawe Munyama said in a briefing.
He said several factors were considered when making the decision, including cargo volumes, TNPA’s operational and cash flow requirements and market-related factors such as the inflation outlook and the cost of debt.
“The Ports Regulator is of the opinion that an overall 0% tariff increase, as well as an export biased lowering of container cargo dues, would be in the best interest of stimulating local manufacturing, beneficiation and employment creation,” said Munyama.
He added that for the 2020-21 tariff year, the regulator had approved revenue of R11.9 billion against the R13.5 billion applied for by TNPA.
Despite the more R1.5 billion shortfall, he said the regulator was confident about TNPA’s sustainability, adding that it still had the “financial space” to fully implement its capex programme, totalling R3.147 billion.
Saasoa chair Malte Karsten said he was happy.
“Marine services [excluding container cargo fees] has increased by 5%, which will affect international shipping lines. However, the decline in cargo dues is welcome and something that [was] called for some 10 years ago,” he said.
“We can live with a 0% increase, but costs must come down further and we need to get the requisite level of service.”