Stable growth within the air cargo industry in Africa is likely to be recorded in 2013, despite the current global economic uncertainty, says Charles Brewer at DHL Express.

Brewer believes single digit volume growth in the short term will be as a result of the traditional oil and energy sector, increased consumer spending and economic activity, which remains the main driver of air cargo traffic on the continent.

“Within the sub-Saharan region, routes between Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Uganda will grow as a result of major investment into those markets and their positive economic indicators, as well as other factors, including oil and gas finds, or regulatory changes.

“In 2013, according to our own data and volume trends, we predict that South Africa’s main trading partner within Africa will be Nigeria due to the high volume of technology and electronic goods shipped into that country. From a global perspective, sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growing partner will be the Asia-Pacific region, which has recently instituted new ties with Africa as it looks to secure sources of raw materials to fuel the future expansion of the region.”

Brewer adds that one of the major challenges South Africa could face is in the labour sector.

“We saw a major strike in 2012 that crippled most of the transport industry. While we were still operating, this had a significant impact on our business – the labour environment is a challenging one in Africa, and South Africa is no different.”