Citrus growers asked to stop harvesting due to harbour backlog
The recent cyber-attack at Transnet has prompted a call for citrus growers to slow down the harvesting, packaging and transporting of their fruit for export.
The logistics company's IT system was targeted by hackers around the time of the unrest last month.
It exacerbated the backlog of products waiting to leave our shores, which had started when KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were hit by violence, causing some key economic routes to be shut down.
The Durban-based SA Citrus Growers Association says they've had to issue the call as large amounts of produce were still coming through from as far as Limpopo and other parts of the country, all waiting to go through the Durban harbour.
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CEO Justin Chadwick says 2.5 million tonnes are exported through the Durban port each year.
"We are exporting about five million cartons a week so that's 15 million cartons of food that wasn't loaded onto vessels and shipped.
"So the backlogs really built up. The cold stores were over 100 percent full and couldn't take in more food, but the trucks kept coming because it's like a fast-food machine and you can't stop it because the guys are harvesting and packing.
"A week ago we made a request to the growers to actually stop harvesting and stop packing the food."
