Citrus growers ask Ramaphosa about quick fixes to SA ports which pose a ‘serious threat to export season’

The Citrus Growers Association (CGA) has called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide an update in his state of the nation address (Sona) on the government’s short-term plan to tackle challenges at ports which “pose a serious threat to the upcoming citrus export season”.

Last year the citrus industry exported a record-breaking 163-million cartons, sustaining 120,000 jobs and generating R25bn in export revenue, said the association.

“Due to ongoing operational challenges at the ports that were compounded by the rioting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021 and the cyber attack against Transnet later that month, citrus arrived way too late in many markets — in some cases by over a month, which severely affected fruit quality and grower revenue.

“If this continues, the future profitability and sustainability of the industry will be under severe threat,” said Justin Chadwick, CEO of the CGA.

He said while the government’s longer-term plans to turn around the ports — including a R100bn infrastructure development project at the Durban port and plans to secure private sector partner investment into ports over the next few years — were welcome, immediate intervention was desperately needed at the Durban and Cape Town ports to ensure citrus reaches key markets on time this year.

Key areas that need urgent intervention include:

• sufficient funds allocated to Transnet in this year’s budget to invest in critical equipment and personnel to ensure an immediate improvement in performance and productivity at the ports container terminals, particularly Durban pier 1, Durban pier 2 and Cape Town container terminals; and
• Transnet and logistics partners planning and executing the receiving and dispatching of trucks at terminals with precision to ensure truck throughput was maximised so there was minimal downtime of this limited resource.

Chadwick said the reefer (refrigerated container) capacity was mostly oversubscribed at the Durban and Coega ports, which limited the ability to export citrus during the 2021 season. It was crucial all stakeholders deliberate on the most optimal reefer capacity at each container terminal aligned to export forecasts for each region in 2022.

“These steps must be prioritised and realised as a matter of urgency in the months to come, not only to avoid a repeat of 2021 but also to prevent shipping lines increasingly bypassing South African ports, which not only robs growers of the opportunity to access all markets but also puts the entire economy at risk.”

TimesLIVE