Bhunya – The ongoing heavy rains in the Kingdom have severely impacted the country’s timber sector, with Montigny Investments, one of the largest timber exporters, facing losses between E3 million and E5 million in just one week. The disruption has been caused by damaged roads, washed-away culverts and bridges, and restricted access to forests, leading to a drastic reduction in the movement of raw materials to mills and export routes.
Montigny spokesperson, Sihle Mavuso, shared the details during an interview on Eswatini Television Market View with host Nostile Sithole. Mavuso explained that the company is struggling to maintain its usual export operations, with fewer trucks able to transport goods to South Africa.
“We have seen some drastic decline in production on our three main lines,” Mavuso said. “On a normal day, from the forest to Richards Bay, we send about 40 trucks, but at the moment we are sending far less to South Africa, less than 50% of what we would normally send.”
Mill operations have been hit as well, with the number of trucks moving from mills sharply reduced. “On a normal day we send between 25 and 35 trucks from the mills, but the latest figures show we are sending about 20 trucks on average,” Mavuso added. “In Nhlangano, where we usually send 15 to 20 loads, we are now sending between five and 10 trucks.”
Persistent rains have also rendered plantation roads nearly impassable, with damaged infrastructure slowing production and transport. Mavuso described the situation, saying, “Plantation roads have been seriously damaged. Some culverts and small bridges have been washed away, and it’s very slippery. Even our heavy equipment like tractors and excavators are struggling to get the product out of the forest.”
The disruption has led to an absence of raw materials at Montigny’s mills, resulting in losses of between E3 million and E5 million in the past week alone. “We are hoping that these weather patterns improve so that we can recover,” Mavuso stated.
The situation is worsened by the complete suspension of exports to Mozambique, a key market for Montigny. “That market has completely been shut. We’re unable to send anything to Mozambique,” Mavuso said. “Even trying to access it through a port is not possible, so our customers there cannot be serviced at this moment.”
In response to the ongoing challenges, Montigny is exploring alternative strategies for production and transport, including mechanical harvesting and increasing the use of rail transport. “We are transporting just above 4,000 tonnes using the railway lines and are looking at increasing those volumes,” Mavuso concluded. “We believe these measures will help us manage better under these conditions.”
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