The shocking ranking of South African ports on a global index has been concerning for fruit farmers in the Western Cape who are halfway through their exports for the season.
The index ranked Cape Towns port as the worst from the list of ports around the world.
According to the global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), which ranked 405 global container ports during 2023 by efficiency, focusing on the duration of port stay for container vessels, Cape Town was ranked 405 out of 405.
The Index is developed by the World Bank and S P Global Market Intelligence. The fourth edition was based on the biggest dataset ever: more than 182 000 vessel calls, 238.2 million moves and about 381 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) for the full calendar year of 2023.
More than 80% of merchandise trade is transported by sea and therefore, the resilience, efficiency and overall performance of ports are crucial for global markets and economic development. The primary aim is to identify areas for enhancement for the benefit of multiple stakeholders in the global trading system and supply chains, from ports to shipping lines, national governments and consumers.
