Delays and logistical bottlenecks at the Cape Town port, in the Western Cape, cost South Africa’s apple and pear export industry an estimated R1-billion in 2024, said supply chain solutions Link Supply Chain Management MD Chris Knoetze.

The losses stem from additional storage, trucking and plug-in costs, as well as missed market opportunities when vessels bypassed the port.

In response to the logistical challenges affecting the fruit export industry, the Western Cape Department of Mobility (WCDM) met with fruit packing and marketing company Two-a-Day and its logistics partner Link Supply Chain Management for a strategic discussion and site visit earlier this month.

During the visit, industry role players warned that, without urgent intervention, 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 [UK] or the Far East is missed, the sale is gone. You don’t get a second chance to deliver on time in a programme-driven market,” said fruit distributor Tru-Cape Fruit marketing MD Roelf Pienaar.

“When port operations are disrupted, it impacts [on] product quality, increases costs and damages our credibility with overseas buyers,” Knoetze added.

Two-a-Day operations director Chris Petzer pointed out that port delays often force the business to divert containers to Gqeberha to ensure the supply chain “moves” and to avoid halting harvest and packing operations. However, doing so is expensive.

“It’s not sustainable, but sometimes it’s the only option to prevent greater losses,” Petzer said.

Pienaar emphasised that logistics is currently the single biggest risk for the fruit export industry, explaining that other areas in the fruit growing process are compromised if the industry is unable to export the resulting product.

“The farmers, pack-houses and exporters are investing in efficiency every day. Now we need the same urgency and commitment at the port — because without it, the entire value chain is at risk,” Link Supply Chain Management director Gerhard van Heerden added.

Acknowledging that the port’s efficiency is slightly improving, in particular its crane productivity, Knoetze noted the overall crane productivity inefficiency is, nonetheless, still throttling exports.

He added that a more effective port would attract more vessels and services, expand capacity and give more reliable shipping options to various export markets.

Knoetze noted that several current interventions are expected to improve productivity to at least 20 gross crane movements an hour in the coming months.

These interventions include State-owned port company Transnet’s changes at senior management level; the repair and maintenance of equipment; and focusing on operational improvement and capital investment in new rubber tyre gantry cranes at the Cape Town Container Terminal.

However, Knoetze asserts that the process is “still too slow and far removed” from the 33 gross crane movements an hour reported by Transnet in November 2012.

“We urgently need to fast-track the privatisation of the Cape Town terminal to restore competitiveness,” he urged.

Government Response
In response to the challenges brought forward, the WCDM confirmed that it is actively pursuing measures to address these constraints.

WCMD deputy director-general Corrine Gallant outlined existing initiatives, including the Port of Cape Town’s Logistics Development Project Management Unit and plans to revitalise rail infrastructure.



This includes improving road freight safety and capacity, restoring rail services – such as the Overberg line – and ensuring that the Western Cape’s needs are presented at a national level.

“We cannot afford more costs in the chain; our focus is on solutions that remove bottlenecks and protect jobs,” Gallant asserted.

However, industry representatives stressed that timing is critical, warning that delays in decision-making could result in global shipping lines bypassing Cape Town in favour of more efficient ports. 

Western Cape Mobility Minister Isaac Sileku emphasised the need for urgency and structured collaboration with Transnet, asserting that involved parties need to have formal agreements and mechanisms in place to address bottlenecks when they arise.

“Speed of execution is critical. Our farmers and exporters cannot wait years for solutions,” Sileku said.

The discussion concluded with agreement on the need for faster execution of port and rail improvement projects and formal industry-government forums with direct access to decision-makers.