By Eamonn Ryan
South Africa’s push to diversify agricultural export markets beyond traditional Western partners could significantly reshape the country’s cold chain landscape. This is part two of a two-part series.
As discussions deepen within BRICS and China grants South Africa duty-free access under a new framework agreement, new corridors for fruit, nuts, meat and processed products could drive fresh investment in cold storage, reefer shipping and inland logistics. Yet the opportunities come with complexity, as tariff negotiations and reciprocal trade concessions remain under discussion.
Speaking on a Business Day podcast, Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz, described the China agreement as promising but still in its infancy: “To actually reach a deal, we have to go through the whole tariff book and agree on which tariff lines we are opening and at what levels.”
While China has granted duty-free access in principle, detailed negotiations remain ahead – and South Africa will need to balance agricultural ambitions with sensitivities in manufacturing and automotive sectors.
“China will ask for reciprocity. Some balancing of all of these trade-offs will be necessary,” he said.
Beyond China: the bigger BRICS question
Wandile said the broader BRICS trade conversation must extend beyond China.
“Beyond China, we have to be talking to India,” he said, noting India has signed several trade agreements recently. “We also have to be talking as a grouping of BRICS to say: is a BRICS trade agreement something people are thinking about?”
For the cold chain sector, expanded intra-BRICS trade could mean:
- Increased long-haul refrigerated exports to Asia
- Higher demand for compliance and phytosanitary cold treatment
- Greater need for port-side cold storage capacity
- Expanded reefer container availability
Market diversification would also reduce reliance on tariff-sensitive destinations such as the US.
Record exports provide momentum
South Africa’s 2025 record agricultural exports of USD15.1-billion provided strong momentum for these negotiations. “I would say it’s the two – the large volumes as well as the better commodity prices,” Sihlobo said, referring to the year’s La Niña-driven bumper harvest in grains, oilseeds, fruit and vegetables.
Healthy demand and improved logistics performance supported export growth. “The volumes were healthy, and the logistics were much smoother than in the past,” he said.
Africa remains core to cold chain stability
Even as BRICS gains attention, Africa remains South Africa’s anchor market, accounting for more than half of agricultural exports. “The African continent has always been the major driver,” Sihlobo said.
For cold chain operators, this regional base ensures steady movement of perishable goods, underpinning warehouse occupancy, cross-border reefer trucking and regional food security.
Logistics as the enabler
Sihlobo emphasised that improved port operations are foundational to sustaining export growth. “When we talk about this excellent performance of agriculture, it’s actually on the basis of that very same point – that the ports are performing better than in the past,” he said.
With machinery upgrades and closer public-private co-ordination underway, port efficiency will be critical if South Africa is to capitalise on BRICS expansion and deeper China trade.
For the cold chain industry, the message is clear: diversification is coming – but execution will depend on infrastructure readiness, policy certainty and sustained operational improvements.