STiR coffee and tea magazine

26 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2018 (April / May) This corridor is a network of roads, railways, inland waterways, and inland depots that link the port of Mombasa to Kenya's hinterland, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern Democratic Repub- lic of Congo (DRC). These countries comprise the East African Community, a regional intergovern- mental organization that includes South Sudan and Tanzania. All have now computerized clear- ance and electronic tracking of coffee cargo and other goods along the corridor. Under SCT a coffee exporter makes one data entry at the customs exit station. It is then elec- tronically transmitted by a state revenue agency such as Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to a similar agency in the destination country. URA, for example, will transmit the data to Kenya Rev- enue Authority (KRA) and the Kenya Ports Au- thority (KPA) if the coffee is being exported via the port of Mombasa. During transit, the coffee exporter is not re- quired to declare the cargo again or provide ad- ditional customs entry data. KRA and KPA will process the data transmitted by URA, which ide- ally takes about 10 minutes and the coffee will be ready for shipping. Electronic clearance systems reduce the cost of inland transportation in two ways: quicker turn- around in transit and shorter container dwell times, easing congestion at the port in Mombasa. A new 472-kilometer standard gauge railway (SGR) line linking Nairobi to Mombasa and the commission- ing of a 180,000 (TEU) capacity inland container depot in the city significantly increase cargo han- dling capacity. At least 96% of goods from and to the port of Mombasa are moved by a 14,108-kilometer road- way network that connects Kenya, Uganda, Rwan- da, Burundi, and parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. "There is now on emerging new intermodal concept involving road and rail through Nairobi using the SGR that delivers the coffee directly to the port of Mombasa," said Dino Schmitz, general manager, Spedag Interfreight Uganda Ltd. Intermodal transport speeds up logistics Export coffee from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya is transported either along the 2,000km Mombasa-Bujumbura route, also known as the southwest terminus or via the 3,000km Mombasa- Kisangani route. Transport between Uganda and Kenya is along the 1,170km Mombasa-Malaba- Kampala road which is preferred because of its relative good quality. All these routes are part of the Northern Corridor. Reliance on roads for transporting coffee is likely to end soon after the first freight service between Nairobi and Mombasa was launched in January 2018. Cargo is now dropped at the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi by truck for clearance while im- ported coffee cargo from Mombasa port will be offloaded at the same depot before released for last mile transportation by coffee traders in the region. It will cost $500 to transport a 20 ft. coffee container between Nairobi and Mombasa and $700 for a 40 ft. (30 metric tons and lighter) con- tainers excluding the last mile transportation costs according to a schedule by Kenya Railways Corpo- ration (KRC), which operates the SGR line. The rates are inclusive of terminal placement charges and all loaded containers are charged at gross weight according to KRC. "The new SGR line in Kenya from Nairobi to Mombasa will provide a timely, reliable and safe option as it reduces the period cargo is in transit," said Schmitz. Both the SGR and the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi have enhanced the security and safety of cargo while in transit and at the depot accord- ing to KRC. The cost of transporting coffee is also expect- ed to reduce according to Hussein Kidedde of the Uganda Freight Forwarders Association. "The roads should ideally be for the first mile (from ship to port rail station) and the last mile (from Inland Container Depot to the cargo own- er premises) delivery," said Kidedde during the AFCA Conference. Reduction in reliance on road transport for coffee is also expected to bring down the total cost of business for coffee traders in East Africa and who currently must pay more for spare parts, traffic jams and fuel for trucks. The weighbridge at Mariakani, which weighs imports and exports from and to the port of Mombasa, records an av- erage of 5,000 trucks daily. KRC has also offered free storage to exporters and importers for 15 days and importers 12 days respectively to enable them "consolidate their car- go prior to shipment and pick-up." "The exporters and importers responsibility ends and starts at the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi so there is no need to travel to clear the cargo in Mombasa," says Atanas Maina, the managing director of KRC. Dormans Ltd's Bridget Carrington Dino Schmitz, Spedag Interfreight Uganda

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