South Africa’s well-regulated perishables industry continues to drive its agriculture exports, which are highly sought-after the world over.According to Vijan Chetty, director of the Board for the Cool Chain Association (CCA), the bulk of South Africa’s perishable cargo moves via sea freight – a sector that has been under tremendous pressure since the outbreak of Covid-19.“In South Africa, we have seen a huge spike in the use of reefer containers – a move that was unexpected because until very recently, most of our volumes moved with conventional specialised refrigerated vessels.”With these vessels increasingly being decommissioned and the move towards door-to-door services rising, the use of reefer containers has increased steadily over the past five years. This, however, saw the country vulnerable during the height of the pandemic, when a container shortage hit the globe. “In particular with what was happening in Asia, there were challenges getting containers as they were unable to move them out in time, while congestion at ports all around the world exacerbated the situation.”Chetty said in South Africa, the major delays being experienced by many ocean liners saw ships start to bypass the ports, with dire consequences for the perishables sector.“South A f r ica’s regulations in dealing with the cold chain and ensuring its integrity have played a critical role in the country’s successful export procedure during these trying times. We have regulations that don’t exist in totality in the rest of the world.”To illustrate his point, Chetty mentioned the work of the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB), of which he is the general manager: coastal. The PPECB is an independent service provider of quality certification and cold chain management services for producers and exporters of perishable food products. It conducts sample inspections on 100% of consignments. As a result, the country has been able to meet the stringent external and internal quality standards and food safety compliance required.“On the cold chain, product is monitored from the packhouse until it is exported, as well as en route to the final destination. Cold stores across the country are inspected and registered annually, and temperatures of containers are monitored from the packing right through to getting daily readings from the master of a vessel while the cargo is at sea,” explained Chetty. “This total monitoring of the trade route is one of the major differentiating factors that South Africa has compared with many other parts of the world.”Asked about ways to improve the supply chain, Chetty said it was imperative that rail infrastructure be improved to move more perishables by train.“It is probably our biggest challenge,” he said.“The lack of rail capability has to be addressed. Road congestion causes a lot of logistical challenges, especially in and around the ports. Several trials to move reefer cargo from a back of port area near Bayhead in Durban were negatively impacted when the rail sidings were washed away. This brought these pilots to a standstill until the infrastructure was restored.”With high-value cold chain products such as pharmaceuticals, f lowers and blueberries moving by air, the ability to have a multimodal solution for the majority of freight is important not only to reduce the logistics costs involved, but also to ensure efficiency and a smooth supply chain.“Plantings across South Africa’s agricultural commodities are increasing, meaning we will see an increase in volume.”
