`We won't wait for perishables that sometimes don't turn up'
PERISHABLES WILL be denied preferential treatment over dry cargo at the end of the year on northbound flights from Johannesburg International Airport.
That's the word from general sales agents and freight forwarders who have in the past burnt their fingers holding space on aircraft for perishables that didn't turn up. Dry cargo bookings made at this stage will get preference, according to a GSA who declined to be named.
"South Africa's exports of general cargo have moved ahead by leaps and bounds in recent years and are now taking up just about every centimetre of space we can find in freighters and combis. The withdrawal of four airlines which served Europe in the past has placed an extra burden on the other carriers and there is just no way that we can push aside the constant build-up of dry cargo to meet perishable needs for the short space of time they are available."
Agents point out that while exports have been increasing by the month, with South Africa's excellent returns in US dollar terms, the matter of dry cargo versus perishables came to the fore prominently 18 months ago.
"That was at the end of 1999 when we were facing that so-called millennium bug," one agent said. "Manufacturers filled up warehouses at the airports with their goods, fearing there might be a drop-off in deliveries as the year 2000 arrived. At the same time, while aircraft were able to fill their holds with all of this export surplus, charter freighters which arrived for the upliftment of perishable consignments went away empty in some cases. The late rains had upset deliveries.
"It also resulted in that mess at Johannesburg International Airport where tons of grapes which arrived after the freighters had flown were left standing and rotting. We don't want that situation again.
"Now the manufacturers are working at full strength to meet overseas orders, and quite frankly we must ask the perishable producers why we should turn our backs on steady, year-round clients when space is required for the perishable goods. There is no way in which we can push our regulars aside."
