Cape Town’s port has undergone upgrades in recent months to resolve delays, and support a smooth fruit export season this year. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy visited the port on Monday. This is part of her ongoing engagements with stakeholders in the freight logistics sector.
The port, which Creecy says exports approximately 55% of South Africa’s agricultural produce, has been plagued by inefficiencies. She attributed the challenges in the previous season to broken equipment and adverse weather. She says these and other issues have been addressed to ensure operations are not affected this export season.
“Since the last season, this port has acquired 75 new pieces of equipment and is helping us with the stacking of containers, with the loading and unloading of ships.”
The inefficiencies at the port have had a costly impact on the Western Cape’s deciduous fruit industries in the province. According the Provincial Agriculture Department, it has contributed to an estimated annual loss of R999 million for Two-A-Day (one of Africa’s largest fruit exporters). Premier Alan Winde says unreliable logistics have affected the province’s reputation as a dependable supplier.
“While this figure is deeply worrying, it does not show the full extent of the loss to the agriculture sector because we are not calculating the opportunities lost of growing into new markets. We are not seen as a reliable supplier to the international market because we cannot guarantee delivery,” said Premier Alan Winde.
At the same time, Creecy says it has also introduced a new booking system for trucks has been introduced to further streamline operations.
Creecy further noted that the department is working on ways to incentivise staff during potential backlogs caused by severe weather.
“If we have to stop for two or three days because the weather is bad, we then have to incentivise people to deal with backlog and to work extra hard for extra long hours. So incentivisation and staff morale become very important under those conditions.”
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