By Eamonn Ryan
China’s decision to extend zero-tariff treatment to imports from 53 African countries is beginning to deliver measurable benefits for exporters of temperature-sensitive agricultural products, with lower import costs and faster customs clearance strengthening the competitiveness of African produce.Read More »China’s zero-tariff policy opens new opportunities for Africa’s cold chain exporters
Based on an opinion article by Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), edited for Cold Link AfricaRead More »Vehicle demerit points could create new fleet management challenges for the cold chain
By Eamonn Ryan, based on an opinion article by Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), edited for Cold Link Africa.Read More »Can AARTO cope? Administrative concerns could ripple through South Africa’s cold chain
By Eamonn Ryan
As the cold chain becomes more data-driven, the next frontier is integration – combining product-level temperature data with equipment telemetry, energy usage, and external events to build a truly intelligent system. Johan Ferreira of Coldcubed describes how structuring data correctly unlocks these possibilities and prepares the cold chain for an AI-powered future.Read More »Structured data, integration and the AI-ready cold chain
By Eamonn Ryan
Cold rooms, trucks and display cabinets often perform well when assessed in isolation. According to Johan Ferreira of Coldcubed, the real problems emerge in the handover moments – the transitions between pack house, truck, distribution centre (DC) and store. These are the weak links where temperatures spike and product quality silently deteriorates.Read More »Handover, dwell time and the hidden weak links in the cold chain
By Eamonn Ryan
In the modern food industry, a single cold chain failure can destroy decades of brand equity. Johan Ferreira of Coldcubed points to notorious examples – such as the Enterprise Foods crisis in South Africa – to show how food safety incidents can permanently damage, or even end, once-dominant brands. His solution is not more policies, but better data and better translation of data into action.Read More »From data to action – How live dashboards protect brands and reduce risk
By Eamonn Ryan
Cold chain conversations often focus on compressors, evaporators and setpoints. Johan Ferreira of Coldcubed offers a different starting point: the biology of the product. As a biologist turned cold chain innovator, he argues that you cannot manage what you don’t understand – and in the case of fresh produce, that means recognising that the product is still alive.Read More »The biology of fresh produce and why product-level monitoring beats equipment metrics
By Eamonn Ryan
In many food supply chains, the cold chain is treated as an invisible background process – something that ‘just needs to work’. Johan Ferreira, co-founder of Cold Cubed and a biologist with over four decades of experience across agriculture and retail, argues that this invisibility is precisely the problem.Read More »Decarbonising the cold chain – Why visibility matters
By Eamonn Ryan
For South Africa’s export-driven cold chain, maintaining product quality doesn’t end when a refrigerated container leaves the port. Fresh produce, meat, pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive cargo often spend weeks at sea, making continuous visibility into container conditions increasingly important. As global shipping lines invest in smarter refrigerated container technology, exporters stand to benefit from faster access to operational data, earlier warning of potential issues and improved confidence that products are being transported within specification.Read More »Smarter reefer tracking promises greater cold chain visibility for South African exporters
By Eamonn Ryan
In the final part of her presentation, and especially during the Q&A, Perm Mthethwa of the Agricultural Research Council addressed some of the hard questions around Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP): environmental sustainability, plastic waste, and the balance between reduced food loss and increased material use.Read More »Sustainability, innovation and the future of MAP