The Western Cape department of economic opportunities has added its voice of frustration to the pending high cube legislation debate.
Minister Alan Winde told FTW the movement of high cube containers was of particular concern to the province as all of the fruit was exported in high cubes.
“Come January 1, 2019, fruit exports will come to a complete standstill unless government extends the moratorium or grants the fruit industry exemption. Measuring 2.9m, high cube containers, when transported on the back of a normal transport vehicle, exceed the height of 4.3m as prescribed by South African law and measure in at around 4.6m. A moratorium, due to be lifted in 2019, currently gives blanket exemption to all ISO containers where the overall height exceeds 4.3m.
“We have been working on this issue for three years with the department of transport and we have yet to get anywhere,” said Winde. “One can only hope that they will roll this over and extend the moratorium because there is simply no equipment to move high cube containers in this province at a height of 4.3m.”
