Matthew Conroy, trade manager of Maersk Line Southern Africa discusses how the economic slowdown in China is impacting South African trade.

“China is one of South Africa’s biggest commodities trading partners. The economic slowdown in China and the slump in commodity prices has impacted container trade in South Africa, with the dry exports market, made up of mostly mining commodities, declining by 2% year-on-year in October and declining by 4% over the last quarter. However, the import market remains steady, with 4% year-on-year growth in October and 2% over the last quarter,” he says.