Trade & Economic Development: The Role of the Maritime Industry

There is no doubt in my mind that one of the ways a country or continent can develop economically is through trade. Also, with 90% of goods moved around the world being done via water, the maritime industry plays a very vital role in economic development through trade.

The maritime industry today is way different from what it was centuries before. New parties have been introduced, status quos have been changed and already existing parties have taken on new and more complex roles. Today, the efficiency of seaports, customs, shipping and logistics are the heartbeat of the maritime industry and also determines a country or continents competitiveness on the global market.

If we (Africa) understand the how much the maritime industry can contribute to poverty reduction and our desperate need for economic development and global integration, we will approach it with great respect and do anything to make it highly efficient. I don’t think we understand.

Take for example seaports. In the 19th and some parts of the 20th century, there was not much pressure on seaports to improve efficiency because attention was on reducing high shipping costs. Now that shipping costs have been reduced, seaports are now being forced to improve efficiency in order to make maritime transport as a whole cheap and reliable. These pressures have changed the whole port industry. Today, ports are not perceived as tools that governments use to control whatever flows in and out of their countries. Ports are now perceived as:

1. A country’s gateway to the global market in terms of imports and most importantly exports.
2. Nodes (Joints) in the global supply chain of global businesses
3. Interfaces which connect different forms of transport. (Mainly road, rail and sea)

These definitions of seaports have totally changed the nature of seaports and the manner in which they operate. These days, seaports are required to be provide quick and flexible services and even other value added services such as warehousing. It is beautiful when you read about the efficiency of other ports such as port of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg. I’m not saying African ports are totally inefficient (Maybe they are), what I’m saying is if we really understand the depth and significance of the maritime industry we will do a lot to make sure that it functions with no impediments.