A number of South African fruit exporters are understood to be switching their consignments from sea vessels to airfreight in order to overcome the ongoing transport strike which has crippled much of the country's port network during the past two and a half weeks.
According to local news provider Business Report, some subtropical fruit suppliers have been left with no choice but to pay airfreight rates around five times those charged for ocean shipment or face the prospect of losing business in key export markets.
Wiedse Kruger, managing director of Afrupro Exporters, told the newspaper some export companies had been left with no alternatives.
'We are avoiding being seen in a bad light by our customers. We can't keep on making excuses at the expense of maintaining supplies,' he said.
Derek Donkin, CEO of South Africa's Subtropical Fruit Growers Association, told the publication that the group supplied about 2,000 tonnes of avocados to a number of major supermarkets in Europe but had had a full week of virtual inactivity.
South African avocado exporters face intense competition from Peruvian suppliers, and to a lesser extent from Spain, Brazil and Kenya.
The Peruvian Hass Avocado Producers’ Association (ProHass), which represents Peru’s expanding Hass avocado industry, says it expects exports to increase 24 per cent this season, to around 47,000 tonnes of the fruit.
