IN his weekly newsletter, CEO of the Citrus Growers Association (CGA), Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele quoted a 2025 study by the independent Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), which found that the combined direct and indirect cost of inefficient logistics to the citrus industry was a staggering R5.27 billion in the 2024 season.
“This is a monumental loss to our growers,” he said, “But, importantly, also represents an overall foreign revenue loss and a setback to creating desperately needed jobs at a time when South Africa can least afford it.”
Referring to transport minister Barbara Creecy’s recent keynote address at the 26th Africa Rail Conference, where she highlighted some issues around rail reform, he said: “We at the CGA keep our eyes on rail reform, as our industry continues to grow. As a country, we need to find ways to mitigate concerns regarding the logistics of transporting fruit, especially from our northern regions to ports down south. A significant amount of citrus must travel around 850 km to the Port of Durban by road, so improved rail access is essential.”
Ntshabele said the CGA was continuing to make calls for large-scale private sector participation (PSP) at ports across South Africa. “In January 2026, ICTSI took over responsibility for Pier Two in Durban, a significant and even historic step where PSPs are concerned, and we continue monitoring how this progresses.
“Rail is crying for similar interventions, and the recent official conclusion of rail access agreements with eleven private operators is an important sign of progress. At the conference, the Minister rightly referred to its significance in our country’s freight rail history. This is the type of forward-looking decisions that should be applauded but should also be practised with more urgency.
“The minister expects that the eleven train operators should begin operations as early as April 2027 – the time our season begins. It is our hope that agriculture features strongly in terms of prioritisation of goods to be moved from road to rail. In commenting on these, the minister noted further that the private players would represent a departure from a sole service provider operator, as they would be competing in the market in terms of service quality and efficiency to the benefit of their customers.”
As the current season progresses, Ntshabele said the CGA anticipates reaching the export peak, and remains optimistic that the entire value chain will cooperate to ensure that fruit moves seamlessly from farm to the ports and that it reaches destinations timeously. “Quality of arrivals in destination markets will be a differentiator in a season that is proving to be full of surprises.
“When the big shift to move goods from road to rail does happen, we hope that it will also help cut costs for our growers by eating into the R5.27 billion figure quoted above,” he said.
