As the full scale of the damage becomes clearer, growers in the Langkloof are trying to access orchards, recover remaining fruit and restore basic transport routes. Roads and infrastructure across the region have been extensively damaged or washed away by landslides and collapsing dam walls, with consequences that could also affect water storage for the coming season.
According to local spokesperson Neil-Pierre Strydom, quoted by Hortgro, some fruit producers recorded more than 1,000 mm of rain in just a few days. The town of Joubertina was left without water, while the R62, the main route through the Langkloof, collapsed in three places.
Apples still on the trees
The storms arrived while some producers still had Cripps Pink and Cripps Red apples on the trees. Farmers are now attempting to reach orchards and transport the remaining fruit to packhouses, although damaged roads are making logistics extremely difficult.
Strydom said producers are prepared to repair roads themselves and are seeking permission from the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited to carry out emergency work.
Fruit that would normally be transported via the R62 and exported through Gqeberha and Coega will now have to be rerouted via the Southern Cape town of George and then along the N-2 highway, adding further pressure to an already disrupted supply chain.
Electricity outage becomes the main crisis
For the Western Cape fruit sector, the lack of electricity has become one of the most urgent problems. Calla du Toit, Hortgro pome chairperson, warned that early indications suggest it could take three to four weeks to fully restore the power supply.
The prolonged outage is severely affecting daily life in the region. Schools are unable to operate due to the lack of water and electricity, while many teachers and pupils in Wolseley remain cut off from Ceres because Michell’s Pass is still closed.
Du Toit described the situation as a humanitarian crisis, stressing that restoring electricity as quickly as possible would resolve many immediate challenges. However, he warned that the process does not appear likely to be quick.
Stonefruit sector also hit
The impact of the storms has not been limited to apples and pears. Charl Herbst, Hortgro stonefruit chairperson and a grower outside Tulbagh, reported widespread destruction across the province.
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“It appears as though the entire Western Cape is staggering under the impact of the storm damage,” he said, noting that infrastructure worth millions of rand has been destroyed, although the full extent of the losses is still difficult to quantify.
According to Herbst, the damage is visible across several production areas, from Tulbagh and the Breede River area to Wolseley and Bonnievale. Communities located close to rivers appear to have suffered the worst impact.
A sector already under pressure
The stonefruit industry was already facing significant financial strain before the storms, mainly due to poor export returns and continued logistical problems at the Port of Cape Town.
Herbst pointed to inefficiency and poor management at the harbour as one of the main reasons for low prices this season. In his view, the port situation had already placed the sector under severe pressure before the weather disaster struck.
“The port brought the stonefruit industry to its knees this year, and just when we thought conditions could not worsen, these storms struck,” he said.
A vulnerable position for growers
The combination of storm damage, disrupted logistics, power shortages and existing market pressure has left parts of South Africa’s fruit industry in an extremely vulnerable position.
While the immediate priority is to restore electricity, reopen transport routes and move remaining fruit to packhouses, the longer-term impact will depend on the extent of infrastructure damage, the condition of orchards and the ability of growers to recover before the next production cycle.
For many producers in the Cape regions, the storms have added a new layer of uncertainty to a season already marked by logistical, financial and operational challenges.
