Dar es Salaam-Bujumbura least expensive route in EAC cargo transportation

A survey on logistics performance in East Africa has found that Dar es Salaam-Bujumbura route is the least expensive route in the East African Community cargo transportation. 

The survey, conducted by Shippers Council of East Africa found that the Dar es Salaam-Bujumbura route$0.02 per tonne, followed by Dar es Salaam-Kigali that costs $0.17 and Nairobi-Dodoma that costs $0.1per tonne.

The survey also noted that transporters that use the Northern Corridor bear some of the highest costs in the world, reflecting how shortage of alternative routes is impeding trade competitiveness in East Africa.

Transport costs in the region are estimated at an average of $1.8 per kilometre for every container against international best practices of $1 per kilometre per container.

The Northern Corridor road network covers 12,707 kilometres, of which 1,323.6 kilometre are in Kenya while 2,072 kilometres are in Uganda.

The main drivers of freight cost include fuel prices, non-tariff barriers, long timeliness of clearance at the port and slow turnaround time.

The report shows that Uganda and Kenya had the highest number of police stops for trucks standing at between six and nine while Tanzania had between three and five.

SOURCE: DAILY MONITOR