Approximately 98 % of South African exports are conveyed by sea. The volume of South
Africa's sea trade represents approximately 3,5 percent of world seaborne trade in
tonnage terms, a performance that placed the country on the map of international
maritime nations.
The major portion of South Africa's dry-bulk exports is shipped from the port of
Richards Bay. Richards Bay is the seventh largest world port in terms of cargo volumes,
and handles in excess of 80 million tons per annum. This represents approximately 57 %
of all South African seaborne trade by volume. The greater portion of South African
seaborne trade, especially on the export side consists of shipments of primary (raw)
products or beneficiated primary products, and accounts for approximately 140 million
tons of all cargoes. The export of primary products or commodities is a vital part of the
South African economy and generates a substantial amount of the country's foreign
exchange.
This dissertation concludes that shipment on FOB terms continues to command the lion's
share of all export consignments handled in the port. In fact from the more than 78
million tons of cargo covered in the survey, more than 64 million is shipped on FOB
terms, which constitute in cargo volumes approximately 82% of all exported
commodities from the Port of Richards Bay. The high incidence of shipments on FOB
terms leaves the final arrangement of shipping in the hands of foreign buyers. This
represents a substantial loss of revenue in invisible earnings for the country's service
account of the balance of payments. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/3837 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Contributors | Chasomeris, Mihalis G. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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