The full scale of storm damage is emerging, with the Langkloof region facing destroyed infrastructure, stranded crops, and weeks without electricity
As the real impact of the storms and floods in the Western and Eastern Cape becomes clearer, the Langkloof region’s fruit industry has begun its damage assessment.
In the Langkloof, roads and infrastructure throughout the area has been extensively damaged or washed away through landslides and collapsing dam walls, all of which will affect water storage in the coming season.
Local spokesperson, Neil-Pierre Strydom, is quoted by Hortgro as having said that some fruit producers recorded more than 1,000mm of rain within a matter of days.
Joubertina was left without water, and the R62 – the main route through the Langkloof – collapsed in three places.
“Producers in the region still had Cripps Pink and Cripps Red apples on the trees,” he said.
Farmers are now attempting to access orchards and transport remaining fruit to packhouses.
According to Strydom, producers are prepared to repair roads themselves and are currently seeking permission from the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited to proceed with emergency work.
Fruit that would normally be transported via the R62 and exported via Gqeberha and Coega, will need to be rerouted via the Southern Cape town of George and then further along the N-2 highway.
Calla du Toit, Hortgro pome chairperson, said the greatest crisis facing the Western Cape region is the lack of electricity.
“Early indications suggest it could take three to four weeks to fully restore the electricity supply,” he said.
The prolonged outage has severely disrupted daily life across the region. Schools are unable to operate due to the lack of water and electricity, while many teachers and learners in Wolseley are cut off from Ceres because Michell’s Pass remains closed.
Du Toit said this has become a humanitarian crisis.
“Restoring electricity as quickly as possible would resolve many immediate challenges, but unfortunately, it does not appear to be a quick process.”
The storms did not only affect the apple and pear industry. Hortgro stonefruit chairperson Charl Herbst, who farms outside Tulbagh, described widespread destruction across the province.
“It appears as though the entire Western Cape is staggering under the impact of the storm damage,” he outlined.
”Millions of rand worth of infrastructure has been destroyed, although the full extent is still difficult to quantify.
”The destruction is visible everywhere – from Tulbagh and the Breede River area to Wolseley and Bonnievale,” Herbst confirmed.
”It seems that communities close to rivers have suffered the worst damage.”
The stonefruit industry was already under significant financial pressure before the storms, largely due to poor export returns and ongoing logistical challenges at the Port of Cape Town.
“The primary reason for the poor prices this season has been inefficiency and poor management at the Cape Town harbour,” he noted.
”The port brought the stonefruit industry to its knees this year, and just when we thought conditions could not worsen, these storms struck.
”The stonefruit industry simply cannot absorb another disaster and now finds itself in an extremely vulnerable position,” Herbst added.
