Maersk has delivered 1,800 empty refrigerated 40ft containers from the Middle East to South Africa as additional stock ahead of this citrus season. There is additional supply to come and this will complement the reefer containers that are already in the country and available to customers.
The containers departed Jebel Ali last weekend and are expected to arrive in Durban early May to be distributed among Maersk and Safmarine customers.
Reefer containers are currently scarce in South Africa due to the imbalance in trade flows, which has been impacted by the lockdown in China in the first quarter and the expected stronger demand for South African fruit.
Jonathan Horn, MD at Maersk Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, said that since February, Maersk has developed several global solutions for customers to work through the current challenging trade scenario. Including alternative sea and land routes, cold-storage depots in China and Russia, extra trucking services, rail services support and daily advisories and updating customers worldwide on how to keep their goods moving.
