Mali: Freight finds a way
Mali became the 5th African country on the Syncro Sally Voyage. It clearly lives up to the old saying in shipping and logistics: “Freight finds a way”.
Conditions for the economy and people living in the country are not easy and moving cargo to and from the country is not something which can run like clockwork.
Mali is embroiled in a civil war – or a rebellion, or an armed conflict with terrorists. Take your pick in how you want to describe it. Significant parts of the country are not under the control of the Malian military but is instead subject to attacks or control by Islamic groups, most notably Al-Qaeda affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
From 2013-2023 there was a UN mission MINUSMA stationed as a peace keeping force in Mali, but they were asked to leave in 2023. The Russian Wagner group was also active here from 2021-2025. Subsequently Wagner's activities were taken over by the Russian Afrika Corps which remains active in Mali.
And this outline is just scratching the surface of a conflict with many stakeholders and little in the way of stability.
The reality on the ground if you come as a foreigner is that the only reasonably safe location to go to is the capital Bamako and the immediate surroundings. Elsewhere you have a very real risk of kidnapping or attacks.
The risk also applies to transportation. Mali does not have a railway and is land locked. All goods have to come in by truck. Air freight is also possible but following the JNIM attack on Bamako airport and the military barracks in Kati in April 2026, several airlines including Air France stopped their regular services to Bamako, thereby causing a reduction in scheduled airfreight capacity.
The main transportation mode is therefore overland by truck. One of the main routes is from Senegal, however due to worsening security issues, the usual road is no longer used and cargo has shifted south to a small road and a small border crossing unable to handle the flow. Present indications are a 40-km queue of trucks at the border.
During 2025-26 there have been attacks on, in some cases dozens, in some cases up to 100, fuel trucks being attacked and set on fire resulting in fuel shortages at times. There are no fuel pipelines going into Mali, and all fuel has to be transported in trucks. This is part of a blockade pursued by the Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin which is an Al-Qaeda affiliated group.
The current issues on the Senegal-Mali route have shifted a significant amount of cargo to come via Ivory Coast, causing congestion issues on the route as well.
In addition to this, moving cargo also faces obstacles in terms of significant bureaucracy, corruption, poor roads and many trucks in relatively poor condition.
Despite all these obstacles, Mali’s population of 25 million people still receive a flow of supplies.
It should, though, be noted that in such an operating environment it is not possible at all times to guarantee for example a transit time from a specific origin to the capital of Bamako, and even less when going to other locations in Mali. Shippers who book cargo to come here must be aware that delays which at times are measured in weeks, and at times in months, are not unusual.
I had the pleasure of visiting Port Sec de Kati outside Bamako which is a dry port for trucks arriving from Senegal. This was arranged with the kind help from OBT Logistics in Mali.
The dry port itself was well structured with stacked containers and space for truck parking whilst goods are awaiting customs clearance. However, the cargo must be cleared within a few days or otherwise the trucks will have to go elsewhere. The dry port also included a warehousing facility where OBT was able to store cargo on behalf of importers, and provide the options for an importer to only gradually withdraw cargo from the warehouse in case for example the importer only cleared cargo through customs in smaller lots.
The accecss road to/from the dry port is a narrow street only marginally able to let 2 trucks pass. The road is heavilty congested by trucks barely moving, at times leading to all other traffic going off the road and driving on the gravel shoulder where there is no real road at all.
In terms of exports, Mali’s main export is gold. Depending on data source, 60-75% of Mali’s export by value comes from the gold mines. But also some export of other mining elements such as Lithium, Iron and Bauxite are exported.
Mali is an exporter of cotton. However, the cotton is mainly exported raw without domestic value-add. Despite this export making up roughly 10-15% of Mali’s GDP, most of the value in this specific supply chain is captured elsewhere outside Mali.
Overall, my impression from visiting Mali is of a country struggling to get by under very difficult circumstances. As mentioned initially, freight always finds a way and that is also the case in Mali. But that also means relatively high freight , and unpredictable transit times, which acts as an significant economic impediment to development.
The purpose of the Syncro Sally Voyage is to pinpoint opportunities in Africa. However, in the specific case of Mali, the ambition needs to be tempered by reality. The conflict with the jihadist groups in the country acts as solid brake on economic development. One could hope that the resumption of diplomatic relations between Algeria and Mali might be a first small step towards a resolution as both parties have an interest in curbing jihadist activity in the Sahel despite their other political differences. But even then, a solution is very likely to be many years away.
There is potential for additional growth in the mining sector, which also brings in need for transportation of large amounts of industrial equipment. But realistically any material growth in this sector will also await some element of resolution of the current terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, the opportunities are there for companies which are able to operate in such a difficult environment and are able to get freight moving despite the circumstances. And when there is peace in the future, companies who have developed and maintained the local connections on the ground are also the ones who will be best place to tap into the – hopefully – future growth market.
A big thank you to Pierre Fournet at OBT Logistics for not only taking time to meet with me in Mali and showing me around, but also in helping with part of the paperwork necessary for me to get a visa - something which was surprisingly difficult to get.
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