Cable theft cost Johannesburg’s fresh produce market in City Deep around R500 000 per day for the four days its electricity infrastructure was affected by criminality last month.
According to Agri SA, cable theft left the market without power from October 26-29.
That’s apart from the impact of the recent bout of load-shedding on the market’s operations.
According to journalist Johan van der Merwe, Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede said that cable theft at the market was an old problem that had been discussed with the City Council of Johannesburg on several occasions.
Writing in Afrikaans agricultural magazine, Landbouweekblad, Van der Merwe reported that although the market had diesel generators, these were insufficient to fulfil its capacity requirements.
Without reliable power feed and secured infrastructure, the market cannot keep its lights, power points, offices, cold storage rooms and related facilities going.
The past two years of intermittent power outages and cable theft are said to have had a serious impact on the market’s ability to deliver whole fresh produce to the public, especially grapes and bananas.
Bananas, in particular, require specific maturing treatment - and without reliable power feed, the quality of the fruit is compromised.
Francois Knowles, registrar of the Agricultural Produce Agents Council, said farmers were the worst affected.
He explained that because of the impact of the deleterious power situation at the market on the quality of produce, prices had been adversely affected.
