Cape Town port delays hit SA fruit and wine exports
JOHANNESBURG – Delays at Cape Town’s main port are forcing fruit exporters in South Africa’s Western Cape province to truck their produce hundreds of miles to access shipping routes to the European Union.
Inclement weather and a shortages of staff, some of whom have fallen ill with the coronavirus, have delayed ships from docking in Cape Town — some for weeks at a time. Some vessels have been turned away, while others have opted to bypass the port completely.
Some exporters of perishable agriculture produce have been trucking their goods to Port Elizabeth, which lies 750 kilometers (466 miles), to the east, or northeast to Durban, a 1,635 kilometer drive away, said Justin Chadwick, the chief executive officer of the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa.
Source: iol.co.za
