Competition hots up for export award

Ray Smuts COMPETITION FOR the Maersk Sealand-sponsored Cape Exporter of the Year 2002 awards is keen as mustard, particularly in light of the recent amalgamation of a fistful of local authorities into the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry. That Maersk Sealand is happy to be associated with this prestigious event is evident in that it has since also lent its name to the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry KwaZulu Natal Exporter of the Year awards - won in April by UEC Technologies a world leader in high-tech digital decoder markets - and the Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and Industry Exporter of the Year awards, to be held in Johannesburg on August 15. Maersk Sealand has sponsored the Cape event for the past three years, the Gauteng event for the past two and KwaZulu Natal since this year. Western Cape companies are making an outstanding contribution to the export boom, especially in the fruit, wine and engineering fields, bringing in more than R27 billion a month or roughly R325 billion over a full year. Apart from the main prize courtesy of Maersk Sealand, other awards are the Safmarine special prize for a small exporter who has performed well over the past year, the Portnet trophy for the top non-manufacturing exporter, and the Seifsa Award for the best engineering exporter. Entries for the Cape Exporter of the Year awards close on June 28, the actual event taking place on September 4. l Exporters wishing to enter either the Gauteng or Cape Exporter of the Year awards may obtain further information by contacting the Johannesburg or Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry.