News / Tradelanes: Latam-Africa 'a bright spot' or 'no great shakes'?

Developing trade between Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) represents one of the brightest spots of opportunity in container shipping at the moment, with the rise in volumes only expected to grow further still.

Per Container Trade Statistics (CTS), volumes in both directions surged over the first 10 months of last year and, while SSA-Latam flows experienced downturns in four of those months, this was compensated for by double-digit spikes in the other six.

AGL Cargo’s Jackson Campos told The Loadstar: “For newly formed corridors such as LatAm–Africa, the structural story is one of strategic expansion and increasing interest among the carriers.”

He added that “volumes and service regularity are still in a formative phase, based on competitive network decisions and broader global trade reconfigurations”, echoing comments by other forwarders on the trade.

Among those to have pointed to the prospects for growth on this trade are DHL Global Forwarding’s former Middle East & Africa CEO, Amadou Diallo, who told The Loadstar these opportunities were not being given enough consideration.

“Wealthy Angolans are paying more and more attention to Brazil, and the same is true in reverse as more Brazilian businesses are looking at upping their trade with West Africa,” he said.

Mr Diallo indicated there were “cultural commonalities”, including food and music, which were partly responsible for the increased trade between the regions, stating that it was something of a “perfect match”.

He continued: “I think these cultural commonalities are why are seeing a lot of flows between South America and West Africa; a lot of flows are coming in, but nobody really seems to be talking about it.”

However, others remain sceptical, with 1Up Cargo’s general manager for South Africa, Cindy Luyt, telling The Loadstar that while there had been some requests, she would consider the lane as “no great shakes”.

Indeed, looking at the underlying volumes – as opposed to the rate of growth – the SSA-to-Latam trade could be best described as in its infancy, with average monthly volumes of just 2,820 teu.

On the reverse leg, Latam to SSA, this figure jumps more than tenfold, to 38,100 teu, volumes having risen by double-digit percentage increases in four of 2025’s first ten months.