This archive report was first published on 13 July 2020.
As of last week, 1774 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) had exceeded the 21-day stay at the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD), resulting in significant storage costs for importers.
According to a report by the Star, cargo clearance now takes an average of 5-6 days, up from the previous 0-4 days within the free storage period.
The Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) has conducted a survey revealing that only 40% of cargo is cleared within the 4-day free storage period, leaving 60% of the cargo to incur storage costs.
The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Association (FEAFFA) notes that the volume of cargo that has overstayed for between 21-120 days grew by 9% to 581 twenty-four foot equivalent containers from last week's 531.
COVID-19 Pandemic Exacerbates Delays ¶
Restrictions due to the pandemic have reduced the available staff for cargo clearance and moved some clearance functions online, impeding processes like verification and release.
Clearance agents now require prior permission to access KPA and KRA facilities to solve clearance-related problems, further fueling delays.
FEAFFA chairman Mr. Roy Mwanthi notes that several importers and clearing agents do not submit clearing documents on time and fail to take advantage of the pre-arrival clearance window.
