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Power outages caused by cable theft at Johannesburg's main agricultural market are harming the quality and safety of millions of dollars of goods at the food hub, according to South African agricultural industry group Agri SA.
"During power outages the market does not have the ability to supply power to the cold storage rooms," the group's executive director, Christo van der Rheede, said in a statement. "This has resulted in these storage rooms operating without cooling since October 26 with disastrous consequences to agricultural products."
The so-called Joburg Market is South Africa’s largest fresh produce hub, serving about 5,000 farmers and 10,000 buyers a day, according to its website. Cable theft has caused the market to be without power in recent days, forcing sellers to rely on generators that are only available intermittently, Agri SA said.
Due to the electricity shortage, cold rooms are running far above their ideal temperatures, affecting the quality and freshness of products, according to the industry group. The value of stock at risk in these rooms is between R30 million to R61 million, and ripening rooms have seen losses of around 500,000 rand daily, it said.
The organization has raised the issue of cable theft with city officials and has asked them to restore power, according to the statement. Officials from the Johannesburg municipality didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
South Africa has also been hit by the worst blackouts on record this year, due to unreliable supplies.
