Citrus export season ‘on track’ despite cyberattack

THE Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) said yesterday the citrus export season remained on track despite the cyberattack on Transnet.

CGA chief executive Justin Chadwick said the organisation was in close contact with Transnet on the unprecedented cyberattack, which had disabled electronic systems and disrupted container terminals at all South Africa’s ports.

The state-owned ports and freightrail company declared force majeure at the country’s key container terminals on Monday after disruptions caused by a cyberattack five days before.

The measure covers the Durban, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town harbours.

Transnet was working around the clock to get its IT system back online, and some applications had already been restored. While these repairs were being carried out, manual systems were being used to shift cargo, which slowed down operations at the ports.

However, citrus being shipped via break bulk vessels had not been impacted, because it was serviced by private terminals in domestic ports.

Chadwick said as a result, there was a backlog of fruit across the citrus supply chain, causing temporary delays in exporting fruit to key markets. In order to ease the pressure on ports, growers were diverting fruit to Maputo, Mozambique. The disruptions were expected to be short-lived, he said.

“With more of Transnet’s IT systems coming back online all the time, it is expected that the current disruptions will be short-lived and will have a minimal impact on the current export season,” he said.