Authorities have made major progress in returning the Durban port to full functionality ahead of the 2022 citrus export season, says the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa.
In a press statement on Friday (22 April 2022), to allay citrus growers’ fears, the association says it has been engaging closely with government and stakeholders across the citrus value chain.
“We are pleased that there has been significant progress achieved over the past week with the department of public enterprises, Transnet and eThekwini Municipality working speedily to repair the extensive damage caused by the flooding.
“In this regard, these government entities have managed to reopen Bayhead Road, which is the main feeder road to the container port terminals.”
Bayhead Road repairs ahead of schedule
The flooding had caused a length of two ingoing lanes of Bayhead Road, over a canal, to wash away. Thankfully the outgoing lanes weren’t severely damaged and once these had been assessed for safety, the lanes were reopened ahead of schedule.
Under strictly controlled conditions cargo could move in and out of the port. While these repairs were being done, alternative routes through residential areas were used to ensure fuel and other essential cargo delivery.
The CGA has also been informed that work on the ingoing lanes is proceeding well and what was predicted to take a few months could now take a few weeks.
Logistics still disrupted
The CGA says it will be some time before the logistics system returns to some form of normality. In particular, the container depots were hard hit by the might of the floods with containers drifting on freeways, container stacks collapsing to the ground and containers scattered around the depots.
The latest information provided to the association is that three of the ten container depots are fully functional. The rest are working hard to get back into operation, particularly getting water and electricity reconnected. The CGA says this is essential for exporting citrus.
For other companies, there is longer-term structural work that needs to be done to their depots.
Many containers have also been damaged, and assessments are underway to determine how many can be utilised and how many will be decommissioned. This means there could likely be a shortage of containers.
This shortage will be further exacerbated by import containers and vessels having bypassed the Durban port altogether.
ALSO READ: KZN floods: Durban port has export farmers worried
Cold stores
Thankfully, most cold stores were not structurally damaged and continue to receive fruit, which means there is still capacity to receive more fruit.
“The CGA will continue monitoring the situation to ensure that fruit arriving in Durban can be stored. [We have] also advised exporters to liaise with their cold stores before trucking fruit to Durban.”
Rail infrastructure
Rail infrastructure has been severely damaged and rail is not currently an option. Transnet Freight Rail is working hard at doing repairs, but it will be some time before the network is repaired and functional.
Critically, Maydon Warf Fruit terminals and Fresh Produce Terminals are both functioning normally, which means that specialised reefer vessels can be loaded and despatched with no delay.
Citrus growers grateful
“The CGA would like to thank all role players involved in ensuring the speedy rehabilitation of the Durban port and the rest of the logistics chain impacted by the floods,” the association says.
“It has truly been a monumental effort and a great example of stakeholders working together to ensure imports and exports continue to flow in and out of the country.
“However, there is a lot of repair work that still needs to be done. The CGA will continue to hold regular meetings with government and all supply chain partners to share insights and provide updates as the industry heads into the 2022 citrus export season.”
ALSO READ: KZN floods: Root rot destroys cane farmers’ harvests
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