SA’s citrus industry has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to use his state of the nation address on Thursday to provide a clear plan for tackling the problems at ports, which pose a serious threat to the upcoming export season.
SA is the second-largest global exporter of citrus after Spain. The local citrus industry exports to more than 100 countries, generating about R25bn annually and supporting 120,000 jobs.
However, citrus exporters and many others who export and import goods have been frustrated recently by operational issues at ports, including ageing, out-of-service infrastructure and congestion, particularly at the ports of Cape Town, Durban and Richards Bay.
Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa, an organisation representing 1,250 growers and almost 400 packhouses, said while the industry exported a record 163-million cartons in 2021, up from 146-million cartons the previous year, many growers did not hit their revenue targets.
This is due to ongoing operational challenges at the ports. These were compounded by the rioting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July and a cyberattack against Transnet, which manages all eight of SA’s commercial ports. This meant that citrus arrived too late in many markets — by more than a month in some cases — Chadwick said, adding that this severely affected fruit quality and grower revenue.
“If this continues, the future profitability and sustainability of the industry will be under severe threat,” he said.
This comes at a time when demand for citrus has been growing internationally, helped by unverified claims that eating such fruit and other foods often used as home remedies for flu and common colds can help fight Covid-19.
Chadwick said while the government’s longer-term plans to turn around the ports, including a R100bn infrastructure development project at Durban port, and plans to secure private sector investment into the ports over the next few years were welcome, immediate intervention is desperately required at the Durban and Cape Town ports to ensure citrus reaches key markets on time in 2022.
He called for sufficient funds to be 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.
Furthermore, Transnet and its logistics partners must also plan and execute the receiving and dispatching of trucks at the terminals with precision to ensure that truck throughput is maximised so there is minimal downtime, Chadwick said.
“Currently, the truck booking system at the aforementioned terminals is not proving to be beneficial in facilitating the efficient and effective movement of reefer containers or [refrigerated containers], full and empty, through the terminals.”
Chadwick also noted that the reefer capacity was mostly oversubscribed at the Durban and Coega ports, which limited the ability to export citrus during the 2021 season.
“It is crucial that all stakeholders deliberate on the most optimal reefer capacity at each container terminal aligned to export forecasts for each region in 2022.
“All 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,” Chadwick said.
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