News / Tradelanes: SSA-Europe volumes up, but the focus is switching

Volumes may be up in both directions on Europe-Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) trades, but the real story is the shifting priorities of South Africa – the continent’s largest economy increasingly directing attention to China, India, and the Middle East.

While year-on-year growth may have slowed to 1.2% for SSA-Europe in September, according to the most recent data from Container Trade Statistics, it means all but one of the first nine months of 2025 have been up for a monthly average of 93,700 teu.

Sources told The Loadstar the bulk of this upswing had been driven by a bumper summer fruit harvest – explaining the 11.3% and 29.3% growth in July and August, respectively, but noting that the situation was likely now levelling out.

One forwarder told The Loadstar: “I think demand may have waned a little on the Southern Africa to Europe trades, and we are now seeing the net effect of this, but there is nothing strange or suspicious in it.”

On the reverse leg, volumes from Europe to SSA has also been up for eight of the first nine months of the year, but the growth rates have never broken the double-digit mark, with September experiencing a 6.4% year on year increase to 195,900 teu.

Average monthly volumes for Europe-SSA passed the 180,150 mark, suggesting Africa remains important to European shippers, but one source said while they could not speak for the continent as a whole, South Africa was certainly looking elsewhere.

“The prevailing African narrative is that South Africa’s trade patterns are slowly moving from the traditional partners (Northern Europe, the UK, and US) and more to China, India, and the Middle East,” the source told The Loadstar.

“This aligns with the South African political world view. So, the shifting will continue to be slow, but gradual. Therefore, without analysing the data in any depth, I believe what we’re seeing in rates and volumes is systematic of the overall shift.”

In an update to yesterday’s Africa-Asia tradelane data, Maersk this morning announced it would be removing peak season surcharges on services from Asia-Pacific to Mauritius and South Africa, beginning on rotations starting next week.

The Danish carrier said the decision had been taken to “keep providing you with our global services”, although a forwarding source indicated that the “usual grumble and groaning” by cargo owners over the surcharges may have worked.

Services from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore to South Africa and Mauritius will no longer be subject to the surcharge.

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