How did Lomé’s port perform in 2020 amidst the Covid-19 outbreak?

Logistics

Friday, 12 March 2021 17:48

How did Lomé’s port perform in 2020 amidst the Covid-19 outbreak?

(Togo First) - Between 2019 and 2020, the overall traffic of the Port of Lomé increased by about 12%, from about 22.7 million tons to about 25.5 million tons, according to provisional data provided by the port authorities.

In detail, imports recorded at the port grew by almost 15% over the period, from 6.5 million tons to 7.5 million tons. As for exports (national exports and transit combined), they soared by 3%, from 1.28 million tons to 1.32 million tons. Transshipment activities, meanwhile, have jumped annually by 12%. From 15 million tons in 2019, they reached 16.6 million tons in 2020.

There has been a sustained evolution of port traffic over the last three years: 22.1 million tons in 2018, 22.7 in 2019, and 25.5 in 2020.

The figures tend to attest to the port's resilience in 2020, in a global context marked by a slowdown in traffic caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This situation reinforced the infrastructure's position as a transshipment hub for countries in the subregion. This is reflected in the strategy of some carriers, such as the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which have made Lomé a strategic relay in the deployment of a new freight policy on the continent, to face constraints caused by the pandemic on maritime traffic.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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