Volumes to Asia, Africa and Middle East on the up

Citrus Black Spot (CBS) remains one of the biggest challenges facing the local perishable industry which has seen a dip in volumes. According to Graham Schrieder, Maersk Line southern Africa reefer channel manager, CBS is especially impacting logistics, costs and the ability to export the fruit on time. “This also applies internationally as growers are not able to supply their clients when they need the fruit. This puts pressure on the growers' profits and options of where to send fruit that is not going into Europe due to the European Union compliance restrictions.” While South African experts have continued to argue that CBS cannot spread to European crops through imported fruit, the EU has not budged from its position that the fruit poses a major risk to local crops. But Schrieder said this was not the only challenge facing the South African perishable industry. “The over-supply of certain markets such as Russia with grapefruit is presenting challenges. This has placed pressure on the industry and also affected growers' returns.” But despite the challenges, growth is being seen into some markets such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East, he said. “With growth to these destinations we see a steady decline in volumes to the greater European region. One of the bigger factors contributing to this for 2014 is of course CBS,” he said. At the same time cold treatment cargo and perishables destined for countries that require cold treatment are increasing. “There are more and more countries requiring this – and the expectation is that it will continue,” he said. “With Europe there also seem to be smaller windows of opportunity than in previous years given that other countries have earlier and later varieties available. Commenting on volumes in general, Schrieder said they had been fluctuating depending on the time of year. “This is primarily due to the fruit moving to alternative markets at the last minute as a result of various factors – product prices and weather being among them. As more volumes move out of different ports during different periods in the year, this can have a significant impact on space and result in equipment pressure.” But, said Schrieder, volumes were generally down year-to-date compared to 2013. INSERT Cold treatment cargo and perishables destined for countries that require cold treatment are increasing. CAPTION A Maersk vessel in Tema... keeping perishable cargo markets supplied despite the challenges.