On September 25, protests broke out in Antananarivo, Madagascar as civilians expressed their opposition to widespread energy and water shortages, inflation, and alleged misuse of public funds. Since then, widespread demonstrations have continued to spread throughout the country and have led to violent confrontations between civilians and government forces, leading to at least 22 deaths and 100 injuries. Although President Andry Rajoelina has attempted to quell the demonstrations by replacing the Prime Minister and several government ministry heads, the demands of protestors have not been satisfied. Demonstration organizers announced a nationwide general strike from October 9 and have demanded President Rajoelina’s resignation. Protests appear likely to continue near-daily as tensions escalate.
Protests cause security and logistics disruptions across Madagascar
While demonstrations remain centered in Madagascar’s capital city of Antananarivo, the protests have spread to many other cities throughout the country, including Fenoarivo, Mahajanga, Antsiranana, Toliara, Sambava, Fianarantsoa, Antsirabe, and Toamasina. The security environment has deteriorated in many of the affected areas due to widespread reports of looting and arson. Logistics operators have noted that some unspecified warehouses have been targeted for theft and arson as part of these disruptions. Amid these threats, many businesses have opted to temporarily halt operations due to safety concerns.
To combat these disruptions, local government officials in many cities have issued curfew orders limiting movement and business operations between dusk and dawn. However, these curfews have not been wholly effective and reports of security threats to many businesses continue. Moreover, limits on civilian movement may have a negative impact on industrial production as workers are prevented from taking evening shifts.
Authorities have reportedly blocked traffic intermittently between regions to quell protests. These blockades, as well as public demonstrators blocking roadways, have occurred sporadically with minimal advance notice. As a result, logistics operators throughout the country have experienced cargo delivery delays. At least 135 cargo shipments have been affected. Additionally, protestors have threatened to block Route Nationale 2 at Toamasina (Tamatave) to prevent traffic and goods from being transported between Toamasina and Antananarivo.
Disruptions have been most severe in Antananarivo, the center of the protests. Since September 25, demonstrations have led to intermittent blockades of the city center, preventing cargo delivery and logistics access. While Madagascar’s largest airport, Antananarivo-Ivato International Airport (IATA: TNR), remains open at the time of writing, the airport has closed intermittently with little notice since September 25. Flight disruptions have been reported, and several airlines have voluntarily cancelled flights to and from the airport, including Emirates, Turkish Airlines, and Air France. Roadway blockades have also been reported in the roads surrounding the airport, disrupting cargo truck traffic in the area.
Additionally, on October 6, customs officers of the Customs Employees’ Union (Sempidou) began an indefinite nationwide strike in solidarity with the protestors. As part of the strike, the officers will only carry out minimum clearance services for humanitarian and public health-related shipments of goods including perishable foods, medicines, and hospital equipment. Early disruptions have already been reported to customs operations for clearance of other goods.
Although protestors declared a general strike beginning October 9, the new strike notice has mainly received support from workers in public sector service fields such as education and medicine. Private sector workers have generally sought to continue negotiations but could join in the future if their demands are not met.
Deteriorating security environment threatens Madagascar’s vanilla industry
Madagascar is the world’s top producer of vanilla, providing around 80% of the global supply. The dependence of companies across the world on vanilla from Madagascar has prompted concerns that ongoing protests could threaten the vanilla supply chain. At the time of writing, no major disruptions specific to vanilla production have been confirmed. However, logistics and security challenges could threaten the safe and timely transport of vanilla products throughout the country and out of the country’s major export nodes.
Protests have been reported in several vanilla-growing areas of Madagascar, including the city of Sambava in the Sava region. The cultivation of vanilla requires labor-intensive hand-pollination by individual workers during a short time frame, usually within only a few hours. Any disruptions to road connectivity by protestors or by official restrictions on movement in vanilla-growing regions could hinder worker mobility and the timely arrival of workers to vanilla farms. Additionally, the high price of vanilla makes vanilla farms and storage warehouses common targets of cargo theft, affecting around 15% of the vanilla crop in a normal year. Increased recent reports of looting and theft throughout Madagascar threatens the security of these vanilla shipments.
On the logistics front, many vanilla products are shipped via air cargo due to their high value. Continued air traffic disruptions at Iwato International Airport and other regional airports in Madagascar could delay or halt shipments. Some products are also transported via ocean shipping. No operational disruptions have been confirmed at Madagascar’s major ports.
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