New PE fruit facility hopes to move 40 000 pallets a year

Ed Richardson A NEW R12-million cold storage facility in the Port Elizabeth harbour will boost fruit exports from the region. Phase one, which covers six thousand square metres and can hold 2 500 pallets of fruit, is already operational. Phase two will add another three thousand square metres capable of storing 1 500 pallets, and will be completed by next year, according to Mark Jensen of PE Cold Storage. The company was formed by Jensen and George and Christakis Efstratiou of Fruit and Veg City to revive an abandoned project to build a new cold storage and processing facility in the harbour. PE Cold Storage expects to move some 30 to 40 000 pallets of deciduous and citrus fruit a year through Port Elizabeth. The modern facility will make fruit exports from the Eastern Cape more competitive, says Jensen. Growers can now 'order pick' for overseas customers It includes a forced air cooling tunnel, which brings fruit down to 0.5 degrees centigrade in just 12 hours. Other cold storage facilities in the province can take several days to achieve the same effect. "Our faster cooling times mean that farmers can pick closer to the stack date. The fruit also arrives fresher on the other side because it is cooled so quickly," he says. Present capacity is 180 tons at a time, but this will be increased to 360 tons. Eastern Cape fruit exporters, who have been using Cape Town for the bulk of their exports, will benefit in a number of other areas, according to Jensen. The first is a saving on road freight costs to Cape Town. These have been escalating along with increases in the fuel price and government's reduction of maximum allowable axle loads combined with more vigilant law enforcement. PE Cold Storage offers fruit growers the option of rail or road. Two lines run into the storage facility from the main growing areas of the Langkloof and Gamtoos River Valley. The easy access to the storage facilities and the port creates another opportunity for growers, who can now "order pick" for overseas customers, says Jensen.