According to BlueWater Reporting's Vessel Deployment Reports, allocated direct weekly vessel capacity operating directly between the Middle East/Indian Subcontinent to Africa is weighted in favor of Middle Eastern imports and against exports.  The above chart represents the estimated weekly TEU capacity deployed directly between the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent and Africa for each quarter over the last year.  
   As the chart indicates, import and export capacity between the two regions were roughly equivalent in the first quarter of 2012.  Capacity in both directions on the trade fell in second quarter of 2012, however, allocated export capacity from Africa decreased by nearly 5,000 TEUs, from 32,575 TEUs to 27,930 TEUs, while allocated import capacity to Africa only fell by about 3,000 TEUs, from 33,653 TEUs to 30,260 TEUs.  
   Trade in both directions between the two regions has rebounded since that time, but while African import capacity has shown steady growth coming into Q1 2013, exceeding the mark set in Q1 2012, African exports actually showed a slight decrease for Q3 2012 before increasing again, and have yet to rise back to the same level as Q1 2012.