Citrus exporters spell out the extra costs of high cube ban

The region’s citrus industry
has expressed its relief that
the high cube contretemps
erupted just after the last of the
season’s exports had arrived
at Durban port last year. But
growers and their transporters
are concerned that if a
resolution is not reached by the
time 2010’s crop starts rolling
out, a costly crisis will result.
“We have a huge percentage
of our fruit going by high
cubes. Forty percent and
perhaps up to half of our
product is shipped in high
cubes. Certainly it will
have a massive impact if the
issue is not resolved,” Justin
Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus
Growers’ Association (CGA),
told FTW.
Vehicles transporting high
cubes were pulled off the roads
in KwaZulu/Natal , a province
through which most SA citrus
travels en route to Durban’s
port.
“There are also government
plans to limit the weight of
vehicles on rural roads. This
will add new impetus to our
efforts to move more fruit by
rail, but there are many places
where rail lines don’t reach.
If high cubes are banned or
weight restrictions reduce
vehicle sizes on rural roads
then it will mean growers
will have to use smaller
containers,” Chadwick said.
If smaller containers are
employed, higher transport
costs will result. If such costs
are added onto the product
price, this will make SA citrus
less competitive globally
and add to consumer prices
domestically.
The CGA does not have a
representative in talks with
government transport officials,
but Chadwick said import/
export firms and other players
in the fruit industry who share
citrus transporters’ concerns
were engaged in discussions to
resolve the high cube issue.