This week, container liners, including MSC, Maersk and CMA CGM, announced introducing a congestion charge for South African ports. The new measure will be applied starting next month in light of the ongoing disruption that has been causing prolonged vessel delays.
In addition to carriers, farmers have been raising concerns about the impact of the ports’ situation on exports of perishable items.
According to an article by South African news outlet Freight News, citrus growers have communicated to the government a list of concerns regarding “ongoing inefficiencies” hampering exports out of Cape Town Port.
The lack of proper investment in the port’s infrastructure and the poor maintenance of it are two of the main reasons behind the current inefficiency. A report presented by Mireille Wenger, the MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities, revealed that the terminal is currently operating at less than 40% of its own target.
Freight News reported Alan Winde, Premier of the Western Cape, as saying, “We have an opportunity to grow exports through the port and create more jobs, yet Transnet cannot seem to get its affairs in order, and so critical logistics hubs are suffering from underinvestment.”
“Given that 42% of their produce (stone and pome fruit) is exported, amounting to more than R17bn [USD 907 million], these inefficiencies are a significant impediment to the industry’s growth and the economy of the region,” added Winde’s spokesperson, Regan Thaw.
Heavy lifting equipment suffered breakdowns last month due to severe weather conditions. The impact of the weather storm remained for days at the ports of Cape Town and Durban, where vessel berthing delays exceeded 12 days in some cases.
Transnet plans for improvement
A report by Reefer Trends says that port operator, Transnet, has committed itself to improving the operational throughput of fruits at the ports.
As part of an 8-point plan to improve efficiencies in the Port of Cape Town, improvements will include optimising the port as a delivery platform, combating adverse weather conditions, improving truck operations, and optimising marine services.
South Africa is the largest exporter of citrus fruit
Over 90% of citrus fruit produce is carried by reefer containers each year. In 2022, nearly 8.2 million tonnes were transported in reefers.
Africa was the top exporter of citrus fruit last year and had managed to increase its seaborne trade from 3.17 million tonnes in 2021 to 3.21 million tonnes in 2022, according to a Drewry report.
The report highlights that optimising the growth on a country level was led by South Africa, which managed to solidify its lead as the largest exporter of this commodity.
