It is not only US tariffs that keep farmers and export agents up at night. The state of the Cape Town port also has them counting apples.
South Africa’s apple and pear export industry is calling for Transnet to act due to the mounting losses caused by inefficiencies at the port of Cape Town, estimating that delays and logistical bottlenecks have cost the sector around R1 billion in 2024 alone.
The Western Cape department of mobility met with Two-a-Day, an apple and pear packing and marketing cooperative, and its logistics partner, Link Supply Chain Management, on Monday for a strategic discussion and site visit to tackle the logistic challenges affecting the fruit export industry.
At the meeting, industry role players warned that without urgent intervention, including the fast-tracking of the port’s privatisation, the country risks losing hard-won market share in key global markets.
“We work in a complex, time-sensitive value chain. If a vessel to Europe, the United Kingdom, or the Far East is missed, the sale is gone. You do not get a second chance to deliver on time in a programme-driven market. Logistics is the single biggest risk for us right now.
“If we cannot get our product out, everything else, from on-farm innovation to market development, is compromised,” Roelf Pienaar, managing director of Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, says.
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Delays at Cape Town port force diversions to Port Elizabeth, costing money
Chris Petzer, operations director at Two-a-Day, explains that port delays often force the business to divert containers to Port Elizabeth at significant cost, simply to keep the supply chain moving and avoid halting harvest and packing operations. “It is not sustainable, but sometimes it is the only option to prevent greater losses.”
Although the Cape Town port’s efficiency is slightly improving, according to Chris Knoetze, managing director of Link Supply Chain Management, a fourth-party logistics provider owned by several of the Western Cape’s leading fruit exporting companies, including Two-a-Day and Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, it is still throttling exports.
A more effective port with higher productivity will attract more vessels and services, expand capacity and give more reliable shipping options to various export markets.
“Given several interventions, like Transnet’s appointment and changes at senior management level, the repair and maintenance of equipment, solving personnel matters, focusing on operational improvement and capital investment in new rubber tyre gantry cranes (RTGs) in Cape Town Container Terminal, we should expect to see a step change in productivity to at least twenty gross crane movements per hour (GCH) or more in the coming months.
“However, the process is still too slow and far removed from the 33 GCH reported by Transnet in November 2012. When port operations are disrupted, it affects product quality, increases costs and damages our credibility with overseas buyers.”
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Inefficiencies cost apple and pear industry R1 billion in 2024
Knoetze emphasises that inefficiencies have cost the apple and pear industry in the Western Cape an estimated R1 billion in 2024 due to additional storage, trucking and plug-in costs, as well as missed market opportunities when vessels bypass Cape Town.
“We urgently need to fast-track the privatisation of the Cape Town terminal to restore competitiveness.”
The Department of Mobility confirmed that it is actively pursuing measures to tackle these constraints. Corrine Gallant, deputy director-general of the Western Cape’s mobility department, outlined existing initiatives, including the port of Cape Town’s Logistics Development Project Management Unit and plans to revitalise rail infrastructure.
“We are working on the landside and waterside inefficiencies. This includes improving road freight safety and capacity, restoring rail services like the Overberg line and ensuring that the Western Cape’s needs are heard at a national level.
“We cannot afford more costs down the chain. Our focus is on solutions that remove bottlenecks and protect jobs.”
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Global shipping bypasses port due to inefficiencies
Industry representatives stressed that time is critical and warned that delays in decision-making could see global shipping lines bypass Cape Town in favour of more efficient ports, delaying fruit by one to two weeks and undermining the Western Cape’s competitiveness.
“The farmers, pack-houses and exporters are investing in efficiency every day. Now we need the same urgency and commitment at the port, as without it, the entire value chain is at risk,” Gerhard van Heerden, director at Link Supply Chain Management, warns.
Isaac Sileku, Western Cape minister of mobility, echoed this and emphasised the need for urgency and structured collaboration with Transnet. “We cannot afford to be reactive. We must have formal agreements and mechanisms in place so that when bottlenecks arise, we know exactly which button to press. Speed of execution is critical — our farmers and exporters cannot wait years for solutions.”
The session concluded with agreement on the need for:
- Faster execution of port and rail improvement projects.
- Formal industry-government forums with direct access to decision-makers.
- Targeted short-, medium- and long-term actions to resolve “low-hanging fruit” issues and systemic challenges.
The Western Cape apple and pear industry contributes significantly to local employment and the provincial economy and stakeholders agreed that improving Cape Town’s port efficiency is essential not only for sustaining the sector but also for enhancing South Africa’s competitiveness in global fruit markets.
