Freight News, Logistics, Sea


Grape expectations as Maersk opens Cape Town coldstore

[ October 29, 2025   //   ]

Maersk officially inaugurated the Belcon Cold Store facility in Cape Town on 28 October, part of a US$100 million investment in South Africa’s cold chain infrastructure.

South Africa’s cold-chain exports, dominated by fresh fruit, particularly citrus and table grapes, account for a substantial portion of the nation’s agricultural exports. However, the grape industry has faced significant challenges, with delays and broken cold chains in logistics costing up to 1.5 billion Rand annually. Inconsistent performance has led to substantial losses for exporters of temperature-sensitive produce.

With the inauguration of Belcon, Maersk now operates three cold storage facilities in South Africa — Belcon, Cato, and PreCool. Together, they feature 32,000 pallet positions, close to the ports of Cape Town and Durban, rail links, on-site container depots and renewable energy systems to decarbonise supply chains.

Customers shipping perishables through Maersk’s South African network now have access to end-to-end services, including consolidation, temperature-controlled storage, customs brokerage, terminal handling, and ocean and landside transportation at origin and destination.

Managing director of Maersk Southern Africa & Islands, Lubabalo Mtya said: “There was a clear need to strengthen South Africa’s cold chain infrastructure to minimise these losses and support the competitiveness of local exporters. The Belcon Cold Store directly addresses this critical gap in the market.

“Maersk has been invested and present in South Africa for over three decades, and our ambition has never been stronger. We are committed to building and delivering logistics solutions that create tangible value for our customers and their businesses, while contributing to South Africa’s economic prosperity and the livelihoods of its people.”

“We are listening to our customers and implementing solutions that go beyond business as usual. This integrated approach means we’re not only delivering on ocean shipping but providing our customers with complete logistics solutions that address their most pressing challenges.”

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