Logistics working group prepares for maize ‘tsunami’

South Africa’s agriculture
logistics ability will be tested to
the limit in coming months as
the country prepares to import
seven million tons of grain and
oil seeds.
John Purchase, CEO of
the Agricultural Business
Chamber (Agribiz), said this
included port capacity –
especially that of Durban – rail
freight and road transport.
“Not to mention our inland
storage capacity when it comes
to turnaround times,” he said.
“Moving this much grain,
maize, wheat, rice and soya
inland is going to place huge
strain on our logistics system
and there are concerns around
bottlenecks and congestion.
We will test our system to its
full extent.”
Purchase told FTW the
organisation had met with
the necessary authorities
and stakeholders – including
Transnet Port Terminals
(TPT) and Transnet Freight
Rail (TFR) – in recent weeks
in order to determine capacity
and ensure that the system
would function optimally and
cope.
“We have had two meetings
and we are happy to say that
everything is in place to deal
with the movement of the
imported products. We are
confident all will co-operate to
ensure a sustainable supply.”
He said in order to
deal with any issues
industry had established a
logistics co-ordinating working
group, inclusive of government,
to monitor the process and
propose interventions where
necessary.
With at least 80% of all
grain being transported
inland by road, questions
around whether South
Africa can successfully move
some seven million tons of
imported agricultural product
successfully remain to be
answered. It is why Agribiz
and other stakeholders have
actively engaged with TFR as
it is commonly understood
that the increased use of rail
transport can and will make a
significant difference.