By Week 06 the South African table grape industry had passed the 80% mark of its packing season. A total of 60.70 million cartons were inspected for export up until Week 06, which is 2% more than the same time last year. A total of 48.57 million cartons were exported up until Week 06, which is 4% more than the previous season to date.
The Northern Provinces and Orange River Regions have concluded packing. The Northern Provinces Region fell short of their season estimate by about 18%. The Orange River Region exceeded their season estimate by over 2%. Regions currently packing are the Hex River, Berg River and Olifants River.
The national crop estimate remains unchanged at 76.40 million cartons inspected for export.
The top three exported varieties for Week 06 were Sweet Celebration™, Sweet Globe™, and Crimson Seedless. Up to Week 06, 79% of volumes were exported to the EU and the UK, and 11% to North America.
Productivity at the Cape Town Container Terminal measured in terms of gross crane moves per hour (GCH) for Week 06 was 13 compared with a year-to-date average of 14.
During the first two weeks of February strong winds in Cape Town slowed operations down at the port which resulted in some shipping delays.
The difference between volumes inspected and exported by the end of Week 06 was 12.13 million cartons, compared to 12.99 million cartons at the same time in the previous season, which indicates a 7% decrease in stock buildup compared with last season. The difference between inspected and exported volumes can largely be accounted for as follows (based on information available to SATI at the time of writing):
5.83 million cartons in cold stores. 4.67 million cartons loaded on vessels, but not yet sailed.
The logistics update was presented by Antoinette van Heerden, Logistical Affairs Manager at FPEF and Jacques Ferreira, SATI Commercial Affairs Manager. For the first nine days of February, Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) recorded 52 hours of wind delays compared to 13 hours over the same period last year. This was the first time since December that the wind delays exceeded last year's.
The Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) is now operating 8 out of 9 ship-to-shore (STS) cranes (LC 1 is still not operational) and 23 out of 24 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes which is sufficient for current operational requirements.
To facilitate the delivery of new RTGs to the Port of Cape Town plans are now being finalised to fix a heavy lift vessel on which the RTGs can be moved. Exact dates must still be confirmed but the arrival of the first batch of 9 new RTGs will likely be pushed out to March followed by assembly and training that could see the units being deployed during July 2025.
For more information:
Jacques Ferreira
SATI
Tel: +27 (0) 21 863 0366
Email: jacques@satgi.co.za
www.satgi.co.za