Border closures cause great uncertainty within South African air freight transport of fresh fruit and vegetable

Since this weekend, border closures for South African travelers have had a major impact on the freight transport of fresh fruit and vegetables, as flights carrying foreign passengers hastily departed from O.R. Tambo. Air France flights were canceled on Saturday and this was a blow to lychee exports to France, the largest buyer of South African lychees in Europe. These flights would also be used to ship blueberries and cherries to France. "We believe that closing the borders to South Africa is an exaggerated reaction, as President Cyril Ramaphosa said on television last week. It is also very frustrating. We are working with a perishable product and it is not yet known whether it can still be shipped by air this week. Our agents have been working nonstop since the weekend to contact airlines and confirm flights and destinations. The time zone difference also plays a role and makes us even more nervous," says an exporter at the airport OR Tambo. Available cargo space drastically ...