South African table grape exports were up 39% at the end of the second week of the year compared to a year before.
The industry sounded a cautiously optimistic tone in its latest industry update as the export season nears its peak. It noted that “performance at the Cape Town Container Terminal continues to show improvement compared with the previous season”.
The port experienced on average 23 windbound hours per week during the first two weeks of January (January 1-14), as opposed to 56 hours per week in January 2024.
Thus far in the season, 24.5 million 4.5 kg cartons of table grapes have been exported, of which 81% went to the European Union and the UK, and 10% to North America.
“Bottlenecks could arise over the next few weeks as volumes peak, with some production regions noting that certain middle-to-late varieties are ripening more quickly than usual.”
The difference between volumes inspected and exported, which serves as an indicator of port delays, was at 7.8 million cartons by January 14, compared to 16.36m at the same time in 2024.
“This decrease in stock buildup compared with last season is positive and an indication that ports are performing well and fruit is reaching export markets faster.”
This difference was made up of 4.99m cartons in cold stores and 1.7m cartons loaded on vessels that had not yet sailed.
This is the first season that the industry’s logistics planning is benefiting from a predictive logistics model. According to Mark Soden, the project lead for the contractor, Transnova, the season’s progress thus far closely tracked the model’s ideal scenario due to limited delays at the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT).
“Actual CTCT utilisation has, thus far, exceeded the model’s planned volumes.”
According to Antoinette van Heerden, logistical affairs manager at the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum, this season’s decrease in windbound hours has been a major contributing factor to the improvement in performance. “The additional 72 operational hours over Christmas and New Year also increased productivity.”
