Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, Dr Ivan Meyer, said in a statement that there should be no rerouting of exports from Western Cape
Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, Dr Ivan Meyer said there should be no more rerouting of exports from Western Cape despite the World Bank Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) highlighting a deterioration in Cape Town’s performance.
Meyer said there was a renewed, urgent focus on improving efficiency at the Port of Cape Town. “This follows recent insights indicating that significant volumes of agricultural produce had to be diverted due to operational challenges at the Port of Cape Town during the previous peak export period. It is estimated that about 55,000 tons of table grapes were rerouted, with additional impacts felt by the pome and stone fruit industries, including apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, and cherries.”
Meyer said rerouting places severe financial strain on producers and exporters due to increased logistics and transport costs.
“A non-performing Port of Cape Town places a direct and unsustainable financial burden on our producers. Every delay and diversion erodes farm profitability, threatens export competitiveness, and places jobs at risk across the agricultural value chain,” he said.
