THE Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) has expanded its footprint to the South America, recently opening an office in Sao Paulo in Brazil.

The addition of the office in Sao Paulo is fundamental as it can potentially serve as a direct link between South America and the Port of Walvis Bay destined for Southern Africa. The office further strengthens the WBCG's position in Sao Paulo, Brazil with an eye to establishing a direct link between South America and Walvis Bay, the group said in a statement yesterday.

"This direct link will afford importers and exporters greater access between South America and Walvis Bay, within seven days, particularly with the shipment of time-sensitive cargo, amongst others, hence increasing the utilization of the Walvis Bay Corridors between Brazil and Southern Africa" the WBCG said.

Various commodities such as frozen chicken, meat, equipment, furniture and other consumables are currently being imported for Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"This new trade route for Southern Africa offers the shortest international trade route for the SADC [Southern African Development Community] region, which is only seven days of sailing time between South America and Southern Africa, via Walvis Bay, Namibia. This therefore means that markets such as the Gauteng Province in Southern Africa could be reached within ten days from Brazil to Johannesburg, South Africa, via the Port of Walvis Bay and the TransKalahari Corridor route," the statement said.

The WBCG already has offices in the Lubumbashi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and Zambia.