TFR targets agri-sector to grow market share

Transnet Freight Rail
(TFR) has identified
fruit, grain, fuel and
timber as sectors for
potential growth, in line with
Transnet’s Market Demand
Strategy to become less
dependent on the country’s
mining sector.
The state-owned operator
moves just 2% of the country’s
fruit produce, but is evaluating
its entire value chain to capture
at least 10% of that market by
2020.
Speaking at a joint FTW/
JCCI business breakfast y last
week, Nyameka Madikizela,
general manager of agriculture
& bulk liquids, said the stateowned
operator had sufficient
rail capacity to achieve the
double-digit figure, but
needed to form Private Sector
Partnerships (PSPs) with
several large fruit growers.
It would then invest in its onand
off-loading capabilities.
“The big word is
collaboration, even across
borders,” she said, fresh from
discussions with logistics
development manager at the
Citrus Growers’ Association
of Southern Africa, Mitchell
Brooke.
Madikizela explained that
Transnet wanted to have
oversight and
influence
with service
providers,
to create an
end-to-endsolution.
“We
need to have a
South African
fruit solution
for logistics and
a team is being
put together
to provide the
timelines for
this,” she said.
And while TFR hasn’t yet
managed to entice large South
African retailers to partner the
organisation, she is optimistic
solutions will be found once
certain granular details have
been ironed out. She added
that the fruit industry wanted
cleaner operations and wanted
to know how
existing cold
storage facilities
could be used.
Transnet was
maintaining
its reefer
containers, and
was open to the
idea of selling
them, she
said. It was also
busy developing
an app that
would allow its
customers to track the location
of their trains.
The rail operator believes
Kakamas, Port Elizabeth,
Cape Town and Tzaneen could
address some of the fruit
sector’s inherent seasonality
risks. TFR is developing a
less-than-train-load strategy
that will look at selling
wagon capacity
rather than
train capacity.
In remote
farming areas
like Kakamas,
the rail utility
is evaluating
different pricing
and operating
models to achieve
this objective.
While the
development
of appropriate
pricing models
was important,
Transnet needed
to understand
where in the entire
supply chain it should look to
negotiate pricing reductions,
she added. Leveraging return
cargo would assist in creating
more competitive rates.
TFR is looking to
get trains to truckdominated
areas
like Upington
and De Aar,
and in so
doing, increase
its wagon
utilisation.
INSERT
TFR is developing an
app that will allow its
customers to track
the location of their
trains.
– Nyameka Madikizela