CAPE TOWN – One of the largest and most destructive storms in decades struck South Africa’s Western Cape last week, claiming 11 lives and leaving a trail of devastation across nearly 400 kilometres of the province’s western region. Early estimates from the provincial government point to damages running into billions of rands.
The agricultural sector, which accounts for 58 percent of all agri-exports from the Western Cape, has been particularly hard hit. The region’s two largest agri-sectors—wine and deciduous fruit—provide employment to hundreds of thousands of people in permanent, seasonal, and value-chain roles.
According to Terry Gale, Chairman of Exporters Western Cape and the Cape Chamber’s Product Market Business Environment Portfolio Committee, the full scale of the crop losses is only now becoming clear.
“To be honest with you, I think it’s probably a lot worse than was originally anticipated,” Gale said. “They still are counting the costs at the moment, in particular when it comes to the citrus as well, because the citrus season has not officially started but a lot of the product was on the trees.”
He identified pome fruit—apples and pears—as having been “dramatically affected,” with much of the crop blown off the trees.
Compounding the agricultural losses are severe logistical disruptions. Fallen electricity pylons have left packhouses running on expensive diesel, and the closure of Mitchell’s Pass has forced container traffic from the Ceres area to take a lengthy detour via Tulbagh and the Du Toitskloof tunnel, adding time and cost.
“To get containers into the port of Cape Town, they have to actually take them from the packhouses in the Ceres area, go out to Tulbagh, then through the tunnel. It’s just adding to the cost of the whole process, and obviously it’s all being delayed as well,” Gale explained.
He stressed the urgency of moving perishable goods: “You can’t keep fruit. Fruit must move as top priority. It only has a certain shelf life. When it gets overseas, it’s got to be in prime condition. It’s pointless for the fruit to arrive rotten.”
Eskom has indicated that electricity may not be restored in some areas for three to four weeks. Ceres currently has only about 10 percent of its normal power capacity.
Despite these challenges, Gale said he does not foresee immediate job losses. “Farmers are very good at this because it’s important that we can keep as many jobs as we can, and they are moving as fast and as quickly as they can.”
He also commended Western Cape government officials for working to reopen roads almost immediately, though he noted that routes are not yet fully operational.
“We always seem to underestimate mother nature, don’t we?” Gale said.