Bollore Transport & Logistics Cameroon ships 18,000 tons of cotton from the Port of Douala to India
Bolloré Transport & Logistics Cameroon shipped 18,000 tons of cotton by conventional cargo handling from the Port of Douala on the vessel Asian Pearl. This cargo is intended to be exported to India. The Société de développement de coton (Sodecoton) and the Société cotonnière du Tchad (CotonTchad) - both specialising in cotton production - awarded this project through Olam Agri, a subsidiary of Olam International, which is one of the world’s largest groups in agri-business.
Before reaching the Port of Douala, the cotton bales were transported by truck along the Moundou-Douala and Garou-Douala corridors and by Camrail’s rail network between Ngaoundéré and Douala. Thanks to the collective work between the Bolloré Transport & Logistics and Olam Agri teams, the handling of the big-bags of cotton was optimised and innovative solutions were established for the entire logistics chain. Their collaboration enabled the construction of warehousing pallets, the manufacture of dedicated tools (spreaders), the adaptation of lifting equipment and warehousing techniques as well as techniques for stowage in holds taking into account the specific conditions of the vessel.
Rohit Kumar, Shipping Director at Olam Agri, Chad, said he was pleased with the loading operation: “For this operation, we established a new logistics pattern along with innovative solutions that we designed in collaboration with Bolloré Transport & Logistics. If this operation is a success from start to finish, we plan to continue using these processes and to reduce the number of containers used for all our shipments outside West Africa in the future. I also acknowledge the efforts of Bolloré Transport & Logistics who brought its teams from Côte d’Ivoire and Togo to Cameroon to ensure the transfer of skills and to enable this process to be implemented in other countries where we operate.”
The Cameroon Bolloré Transport & Logistics and Olam Agri teams are undertaking an exceptional operational challenge to make up for the shortage of containers caused by the imbalance in trade between Asia, Europe and the United States, which has been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Bolloré Transport & Logistics is proud to participate in this major project for our partner Olam Agri and its customers Sodecoton and CotonTchad. This operation is an opportunity to showcase our expertise by providing customised and innovative services that promote the competitiveness of our customers in their respective markets. Our objective is to develop this new method of bulk transportation to meet the diverse needs of our customers using an approach based on operational excellence”, said Serge Agnero, Regional Director Gulf of Guinea, Bolloré Transport & Logistics.
About Bolloré Transport & Logistics Gulf of Guinea
Bolloré Transport & Logistics is a major international transport and logistics operator with 6,000 employees in four countries (Cameroon, Chad, CAR and Equatorial Guinea). Specialising in multimodal transport, the group carries out its activities through four businesses: Bolloré Ports, Bolloré Logistics, and Bolloré Railways. Bolloré Transport & Logistics also leads initiatives for the local population in partnership with organisations, assisting young people in their education and social reintegration and working to raise their awareness of environmental protection.