The Port of Cape Town is on the brink of a logistical breakdown. This has been a long time coming, and is largely the result of national government incompetence and corruption, as the national government still runs our port infrastructure.

Cape Town's port ranked 344 out of 348 ports surveyed in the 2022 World Bank Container Port Performance Index and was among the top 20 ports that experienced the most significant increase in average arrival times. Other South African ports also ranked in the bottom, including Durban, where most of the country’s overseas trade is handled.

This is not only the result of poor governance, but also the dominance of disruptive trade unions, as well as cartel-like gatekeeping by major corporations, as we reported over the weekend.

The fruit and cut-flower sector, which is a major contributor to our local economy, is under threat from delays. While waxing and cold storage can protect some fresh produce from decay, it can only hold out so long. Cold-storage units are vulnerable to power disruptions too.

At the October logistics cluster workshop, Fruit SA, an umbrella organization representing various fresh fruit associations, has raised the alarm. According to their data, delays in exporting goods have led to a doubling of rejected produce, increasing from 2015 to 2022, with a peak of 37% of goods sent abroad.

Fruit SA recently celebrated ten years as representatives of the country’s agricultural sector, and their decennial conference last week highlighted the importance of the industry to our economy, and its reliance on exports. The fruit industry exports 60% of its produce to over 100 countries, with exports injecting over R63 billion into the South African economy, and in 2022, fruits and nuts ranked 7th in exporting commodities, generating over R73 billion in foreign earnings. The industry supports nearly 325,000 jobs, which are made precarious by the state of our logistical infrastructure.

While the port of Cape Town's goal is to handle 20,000 containers per week, this target was achieved only once in 2022, with as few as 7,316 containers handled in a single week. Plus, the target turnaround time of four days has been achieved only twice in 2022, with the worst performance reaching 17 days.

Generally, authorities blame a shortage of rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs) and their engines. RTGs are essential for loading and unloading containers. An equipment improvement plan is in place, aiming to fix RTGs with engine failures and introducing additional RTGs, sourced from the United States, to address the problem.

But from questioning professionals in the sector, a bigger issue appears to be unionised labour and administrative errors.

Mireille Wenger, MEC for Finance & Economic Opportunities, emphasizes that the deteriorating situation at the Port of Cape Town is hampering the Western Cape's target of tripling exports by 2035. This crisis could potentially jeopardize an expected 25% increase in agricultural exports due to favorable weather conditions.

Like many others, Wenger supports a private-sector solution, though the powers of a provincial MEC to affect national policy are extremely limited.

A port benchmarking report by the Ports Regulator of South Africa highlighted that ships spent the most time waiting at anchorage to enter the Port of Cape Town compared to all other South African terminals. Poor equipment availability and reliability, as well as adverse weather conditions, have contributed to this situation.

The deteriorating state of the Port of Cape Town poses a significant threat to the timely export of goods, with the fresh produce sector particularly vulnerable. Urgent private sector intervention is needed to address these issues and ensure the region's economic growth and job creation goals are met.

Of course, Cape Town is not the only port affected, but Cape Town has been left out of recent budget outlays for refurbishing, which have mainly targeted ports in the east.

As a consequence, South African citrus industry executives have pivoted toward using the Port of Maputo as an export gateway for citrus on the eastern coast of Southern Africa, which is closer to citrus-growing regions in northeastern South Africa, and avoids issues with flooding, which often takes out poorly-maintained transport routes closer to Durban.

The Maputo Fruit Terminal (MFT) and DP World Maputo, the Emirati company managing the port, have made significant investments in infrastructure to support citrus exports, including reefer handling facilities and security measures, driven by investment from .

The shift in exports from Durban to Maputo is not unprecedented, but was last seen during the post-Boer War confederacy period before unification, when tariff wars between Natal and the Cape Colony led to a threat from Transvaal to send its mining resources out through the Portuguese colony at what was then called Delagoa Bay.

If the ports and transport infrastructure continue to decline, agriculture in the Cape, may become even more precarious, and depending on the South African government to get its act together may not be feasible.

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