The deciduous fruit industry lost R350 million this season due to Transnet’s operational failures at the Port of Cape Town and is now contemplating taking Transnet to court. Transnet was boasting about all its improvements at the beginning of the season, but it seems that the plans the entity made to move away from being the worst port in the world did not help much. The press release about these plans on the Transnet website no longer opens to a document, but only displays a picture, leaving one to wonder if that was just a mistake.
Elise-Marie Steenkamp, head of communication at Hortgro, says the deciduous fruit industry escalated its operational engagement with Transnet and is considering formal legal remedies due to ongoing operational failures at the Port of Cape Town. “This follows sustained, material underperformance at the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) since the start of the season, which continues to cause significant and measurable harm to the country’s export economy. “Hortgro is currently quantifying the direct and indirect losses of income to producers, arising from unacceptable levels of unsound fruit in markets, discounted prices, additional expenses incurred to divert to other ports, and the forced utilisation of conventional vessels.
“While the industry recognises the commitment and effort of operational teams working under extremely difficult circumstances, the persistence and scale of performance failures at CTCT point to deep-seated structural weaknesses that extend beyond isolated incidents or external disruptions, such as adverse weather.” The World Bankranked the Port of Cape Town among the world’s worst-performing portsin 2024, and Transnet vowed to move away from this position. In October, it issued a press release stating that it was ready for the deciduous fruit export season. Durban now holds the title of the world’s worst port.
Read Full Article on The Citizen
[paywall]
The World Bankranked the Port of Cape Town among the world’s worst-performing ports ranked the Port of Cape Town among the world’s worst-performing ports Steenkamp says the fruit industry engaged constructively and in good faith with Transnet and port management for many years, including a deliberate and disciplined commitment not to pursue media engagement while solutions were found internally. “Despite these efforts, productivity did not recover to globally competitive or operationally reliable levels, despite substantial new equipment investment following more than a decade of capital underspend and readiness assurances provided ahead of the season. Global productivity standards range from 25–30 GHC (gross crane movements per hour), while CTCT remains below 20. “The commercial consequences of this sustained underperformance are now severe, and the industry is exploring options to recoup lost income and cover additional costs.”
[/paywall]
