Citrus association hopes Ramaphosa will address industry woes during SONA
The Citrus Growers Association says it needs to know from the President Cyril Ramaphosa how government plans on solving the operational problems at South African ports.
It's hoping that Ramaphosa will announce solutions when he delivers his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
The association says if not addressed, the challenges pose a serious threat to the upcoming citrus export season.
CEO Justin Chadwick says last year, the industry exported over 160 million cartons of citrus, generating 25 billion rand in export revenue.
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But because of the July unrest and the cyber attack on Transnet - the fruit arrived late at many markets - impacting quality and revenue.
"We need invest in the South African container terminals particularly in pier 1 and pier 2 in Durban and the Cape Town container terminal.
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"So our request to the government a head of the SONA is to give due investment and funding into these essential South African economic lifelines."
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