According to official sources, traffic at the port of Lomé decreased by 6% in the first half of this year.
Although Togolese officials have not provided an explanation for the reduction, it may be related to increased freight costs globally brought on by inflation, the war in Ukraine, as well as the disruption of supply lines and manufacturing equipment. Indeed, these numerous factors made economic actors delay their shipping and investment choices.
Large ships can only dock at the port of Lomé in West Africa’s deep waters for coastal shipping to other ports. It is also the main transshipment platform in the Gulf of Guinea. Nearly 70% of the volumes handled at the port’s terminals last year were transshipments. Consequently, a loss in transshipment activities could also be to blame for the drop in overall traffic.
The decline might also be seen as a correction to 2021, which was a record year for the port of Lomé due to a robust global economic recovery. The primary container terminal’s operator, Lomé Container Terminal, a division of MSC, reported achieving a record 1,128,978 containers in 2021; this translates to 1,635,620 TEUs handled. Overall, the Port had surpassed its previous highs in all business categories, including transit, import-export, and transshipment.
The volume of commodities transported and received increased by 10.8% and 19.3%, respectively, during the same period at the port of Lomé, despite a decline in total traffic during the first half of 2022.
