FYNBOS EXPORTS FROM THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE: A PROBLEM OF LOGISTICS

During 1997 research was conducted on trends in factors that affect the supply anddemand for airfreight space for fynbos exports from South Africa. The aim was tosensitise decision-makers to probable trends in those factors that will shape cargospace availability. The main finding was that the supply of airfreight to South Africanproducers is aggravated by the unbalanced availability of cargo space on southboundand northbound trips originating from Cape Town. If the price and quantity of cargospace were determined by supply and demand, an imbalance couldn’t arise in a perfectmarket, as prices would balance cargo space supplied and demanded. However,airfreight tariffs are rigid per weight level. The result is that items with a higher massper volume unit represent a higher income per palette, and are therefore preferred byexport agents. This finding has implications for future growth in the industry.