‘Shippers must embrace rail to reduce logistics costs'

Perishable exporters must embrace rail in order to address high logistics costs. That’s the view of PPECB CEO Stuart Symington who has urged the industry to look seriously at the rail option. “Twenty years ago all of the fruit in this country arrived at the ports by rail before being seafreighted out of the country. Rail transport is hardly used any more. We must see more of our product moving from road to rail to decrease our logistics costs,” he said. “It will also decrease our carbon footprint and impact positively on the deteriorating road network since a 36-wagon train takes 36 trucks off our roads.” Symington said there was an air of optimism in South Africa’s perishable export markets, with plenty of opportunity remaining for experts in the supply chain. “There is a lot of opportunity, especially around the lesser known products such as raspberries and pomegranates for example. While we don’t really have well-established shipping protocols for these products, they remain niche markets to explore for those willing to go the extra mile.”