The South African fruit industry is calling on its national government to end a two-week long transport workers’ strike and put an end to monopoly operation at Transnet.

The South African fruit export industry has broken its silence on the two week long transport workers’ strike which is causing serious disruption in exports through the country’s container port terminals and has demanded urgent steps from the government to end the strike.

In a letter written by Fruit South Africa, the organisation representing all the fruit export industries, to Barbara Hogan, minister of public enterprises, a copy of which was also delivered to transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele, the export industry says it is haemorrhaging financially as a result of the Transnet strike.

Anton Rabe, chairperson of Fruit SA said: “The financial losses in our industry are going to be staggering.”

According to the organisation, its losses relate not only to loss of income, but also the loss of customers. Rabe said: “Our international customers are in no mood to tolerate non-delivery of product because of a badly managed relationship between a monopolistic para-statal and its workforce. As a fruit industry we are seriously running a risk of losing international marketing programmes which will be taken up with glee by our competitors.”

Fruit SA is also warning that there will be job losses in fruit production and packing if the strike is not resolved soon. Fruit South Africa is also demanding that Transnet pay for losses incurred during the strike, including a new congestion surcharge which the shipping line Maersk introduced from today. Maersk advised shippers on Tuesday that an additional port congestion charge of $150 (£103) per FEU container would come into effect on May 19.

“As an industry, we are calling on all exporters to forward these congestion surcharges, and all other tangible losses they suffer as a result of this strike to Transnet for full compensation. We believe such losses must be recouped from Transnet considering that it has, as a parastatal organisation, insisted on its now ill-fated monopolistic position in the container terminals of South African ports.”

Through Fruit SA, the industry as a whole, in consultation with other industries, is considering its legal position in demanding compensation for its losses.

With the strike nearly two weeks old, the port terminal in Durban has come to a complete standstill. Some containers have been uplifted in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, but major disruptions have been reported.

Conventional reefer shipments have been largely unaffected and the conventional reefer terminals have also loaded additional ships chartered in to help to alleviate the crisis.

GoReefers executive Delena Engelbrecht says the company has been involved with the chartering of three additional vessels. “The problem is to get hold of conventional reefer vessels at short notice. They also come at a considerable price tag.”

Maputu in Mozambique continues to be an option for citrus exporters. On the other side of the continent Walvis Bay in Namibia is an alternative, but fruit needs to be transported an additional 2,000 km to get there.

Topics