By Eamonn Ryan
South Africa’s citrus industry has issued a strong warning that its global competitiveness – and the stability of its export cold chain – is increasingly under threat unless government urgently accelerates implementation of the National Rail Master Plan (NRMP). This is part one of a two-part series.
The concern is not only about logistics efficiency, but about the ability to maintain continuous refrigeration integrity for high-value fruit exports moving through an overstretched road and port system.
At the centre of the debate is the growing strain on time- and temperature-sensitive supply chains. Citrus exports depend on uninterrupted cooling from packhouse to port, and any delay or congestion in transit increases the risk of spoilage, quality degradation, and rejected shipments in overseas markets.
Citrus Growers of Southern Africa logistics development manager Mitchell Brooke made the plea during a Department of Transport (DOT) public engagement meeting in Durban on Thursday, warning that the current system is placing the entire cold chain under avoidable pressure.
The department has described the plan as a R1.9-trillion data-driven strategy aimed at a total overhaul of the rail system by 2050. For the citrus sector, the proposal is increasingly seen as a potential structural reset that could shift refrigerated freight from congested roads to more stable, temperature-consistent rail corridors.
However, the plan faced resistance from the United National Transport Union (UNTU), which raised concern about “backdoor privatisation,” job security, and the ongoing “sabotage” of state assets.
Brooke said about 95% of citrus products are currently being transported via the road network – a dependency he warned is directly undermining cold chain reliability.
“The industry’s grown significantly, and what’s happened is we’ve moved away from rail. 95% of our citrus is moved by road. It’s a massive risk to the industry. If we don’t get rail back, we’re going to lose our competitiveness globally. The cost of road transport is just becoming too high, and the congestion at the ports is making it impossible to get our fruit out in time,” he said.
From a cold chain perspective, his warning highlights a critical vulnerability: road congestion and port delays increase the likelihood of refrigeration interruptions, extended container dwell times, and temperature fluctuation risks – all of which directly impact shelf life and export grading.
He delivered a blunt assessment of the state-owned entity referring to the former State Capture crisis that cost Transnet billions of rands in losses, which left it unable to reinvest in infrastructure.
He said this left Transnet “very dependent on the private sector … without which we’re not going to get rail back.”
Brookes said it was “puzzling” to note the billions of rands spent on road networks like the N3.
“We should have gone to rail earlier … There’s a lot of dead rail asset (unused lines) just sitting and we just heard it’s getting stolen. Take it out before it gets vandalised and sell it for asset value, so you can reinvest in the rail that is going to operate. Do it before it disappears,” he said.
For exporters reliant on cold chain continuity, unused rail infrastructure represents more than wasted capacity – it represents lost opportunity for dedicated refrigerated freight corridors that could significantly reduce exposure to road delays.