Fruit and vegetable exports will be hardest hit if the current legislation limiting the height of high cube containers to 4.3m is not changed. According to freight forwarder Mike Walwyn, almost all of the country’s fruit exports are moved on high cube containers – a growing trend around the world. A moratorium is currently in place exempting compliance with regulation 224(b) of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA) until 1 January 2020. This regulation states that ISO containers cannot exceed a height of 4.3m on South African roads. The moratorium allows for the movement at a height of 4.6m until the end of December, suspending the application of punitive measures. Law enforcement agencies have been called on to collect data of vehicles transporting ISO containers. Walwyn told FTW that should the current moratorium be lifted, fruit exports would come to an immediate standstill. “Every single container moving fruit in South Africa is a high cube,” he said. “They may not represent the highest number, but they do represent the highest value.” And the argument cannot be made that the same height restriction applies in many European countries and the USA. “The height restrictions may very well be the same as ours, but in Europe they have a workable rail and barge system that we simply don’t have.” The fruit industry has been very involved in the ongoing debate on high cubes and several organisations have commented on the matter to government – not only because of the height of the containers and the costs involved in changing the vehicle fleet to meet the 4.3m regulation, but also because of the impact on depots, warehouses and pack houses. All of the dock levellers and loading bays would have to be refurbished to accommodate the 4.3m height restriction. The high cube issue at present remains unresolved, with government having undertaken to do a research study into the movement of these containers this year. This study, however, has yet to be commissioned – and with only four months to go until the current moratorium is lifted, it is unlikely to be completed in time.
CAPTION
Our plea to government is not to extend the moratorium but to change the regulation from 4.3m to 4.6m. – Mike Walwyn
