Meyer made the comments after meeting with the Citrus Growers Association, which represents some of the port’s biggest customers. “The shortage of equipment and obsolete equipment highlights the port authority’s inability to manage the Cape Town terminal efficiently. It undermines the critical role that the port should play in supporting exports and economic growth,” he said.

In recent years, the provincial government has been increasingly vocal in its demands for improved performance at Cape Town. The Western Cape’s minister of finance and economic opportunities, David Maynier, has set up a Port Task Team, made up of representatives from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and stakeholders from across the logistics value chain, to find solutions to the port’s problems.

The Western Cape produces around half of South Africa’s total agricultural exports, a sector that the government has placed at the centre of its plans for job creation and economic growth.

Meyer called on the national government to intervene in the port’s management in order to boost efficiency. “Inefficiencies in this port will harm the Western Cape’s economy and cost jobs at a time when we desperately need to be creating more of them,” he argued.

It has been reported by South African media that equipment broke down at the port more than 5,000 times during fiscal year 2020-21.

Nevertheless, South Africa enjoyed its highest ever volumes of citrus exports last year – 146M cartons – continuing the rapid growth enjoyed over the past decade, and further expansion is expected over the next three years. This could provide at least a partial explanation if Cape Town is struggling to cope with volumes.

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This complete item is approximately 305 words in length, and appeared in the June 2021 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 7. To access this issue download the PDF here