As the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) prepares for the 2023/24 deciduous fruit season, it has commenced engagements with key stakeholders, including the Summer Fruit Industry and the Western Cape Government. On Friday, 01 September 2023, a collaborative planning session was held between TPT and its key stakeholders in Paarl to discuss seasonal readiness plans.
The deciduous season, which is regarded as one of the busiest for the terminal operations, runs from November to March every year. As part of the integrated session the successes and failures of the 2022/23 season were discussed with the aim being to continue capitalizing on operational pockets of excellence and correcting missteps of the previous season.
The seasonal readiness plan includes critical equipment availability as well as the procuring of additional equipment for both the waterside and landside operations. Accelerating equipment replacement, capital spares supply and continuously leveraging on Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) partnerships to shorten lead times to repair equipment are some of the plans currently in place to ensure redundancy throughout the season.
Every year, the terminal exports huge quantities of fruit in refrigerated containers globally to European, Asian, and Middle Eastern markets to name a few, with 183 430 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) being the latest volume achieved over the 2022/23 financial year. This year, the Agri reefer projected growth volumes are estimated at 21%.
“CTCT is well-geared for the deciduous season. We had to reflect on what didn’t work well in the past and what can be done differently going forward. While CTCT appreciates the crucial role it plays being the gateway to the import/export industry as a terminal, the season’s success requires great collaboration. CTCT intends on effectively implementing our operational readiness plans during the season, to ensure optimized outputs for all our stakeholders” said TPT Managing Executive: Western Cape Region, Andiswa Dlanga.
