There is concern in the South African fruit industry that a large amount of fruit and money is lost every season due to breaks in the fruit export cold chain. The possibility of a large percentage of losses in a significant sector of the economy warranted further investigation. This article attempted to highlight some of the possible problem areas in the cold chain, from the cold store to the port, by analysing historic temperature data from different fruit export supply chains of apples, pears and grapes. In addition, a trial shipment of apples was used to investigate temperature variation between different pallets in the same container. This research has added value to the South African fruit industry by identifying the need to improve operational procedures in the cold chain.

Background: South Africa exports a large variety of different fruit types and cultivars worldwide. Yet, there is concern in the South African fruit industry that too much fruit and money is lost each year due to breaks along the fresh fruit export cold chain.Objective: The objective of this article was to identify the influence of logistics activities on breaks along the South African fruit export cold chain. The focus is specifically on temperature sensitive fruit, exported in refrigerated containers to Europe and the United Kingdom through the Port of Cape Town. This supply chain was selected as this was the most accessible supply chain in terms of retrieving the necessary temperature data.Method: The cold chain was investigated from the cold store, through all segments, until the Port of Cape Town. Temperature data collected with temperature monitoring devices from different fruit export supply chains of grapes, plums and pome fruit (apples and pears) were analysed to identify the percentage of temperature breaks and the length of temperature breaks that occur at each segment of the cold chain.Results: The results show that a large number of breaks are experienced along South Africa’s fruit export cold chain, specifically at the interface between the cold store and the truck. In addition, the findings also show that there has been an improvement in the number of breaks experienced in the Port of Cape Town following the implementation of the NAVIS and Refcon systems.Conclusion: This article concludes by providing the fruit industry with areas that require addressing to improve operational procedures along the fruit export cold chain to help ensure that the fruit arrives at its final destination at optimal quality.

Background: Many participants in the South African wine industry still exhibit low supply chain maturity in the management of their supply chains. This hampers export performance and ultimately client satisfaction. The development and tracking of appropriate metrics are key steps in improving supply chain performance.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a performance measurement framework for the South African wine industry, focussing on the bulk export segment.Method: The framework was developed using an emergent multi-phased exploratory approach. The approach was implemented in two distinct phases, namely qualitative research followed by quantitative research in each of three iterations to develop and refine the framework. In each iteration, the qualitative research phase consisted of a literature survey, semi-structured and unstructured interviews and case studies, while the quantitative research phase consisted of the development, distribution, completion and analysis of the framework questionnaire, each iteration building on the framework outputs from the previous iteration.Results: The research highlighted that the wine supply chain performance of bulk exports is hindered by the lack of a measurement culture, hampering the identification and prioritisation of interventions. The creation of a performance measurement framework in conjunction with industry, and informed by the Supply Chain Operations Reference framework, creates a platform for the industry to address these challenges.Conclusion: The implementation of this framework will provide performance visibility for cellars in the wine industry. This would enable them to improve their logistics processes and increase their supply chain maturity, ultimately enabling benchmarking against competing supply chains both within South Africa and abroad, such as in Australia, Argentina and Chile.

Background: Fruit is an important export commodity for South Africa and accounts for 35% of its agricultural exports. South Africa is the second largest citrus exporter in the world, behind Spain. Maintaining the postharvest cold chain is key to ensuring that fruit quality meets export standards.Objectives: The main objectives of this research were to investigate the frequency, location, magnitude and duration of temperature deviations in the South African leg of the clementine and navel orange cold chain.Method: Temperature trials were conducted on two consignments of clementines and two consignments of navels. Each consignment contained 36 iButtons®, of which 18 measured pulp temperature and 18 measured ambient temperature. Data were successfully retrieved from 130 of the 144 iButtons®.Results: This research identified areas where the temperature went outside the prescribed range along the South African portion of the export cold chain of navel oranges and clementines from Citrusdal, South Africa to the Port of Newark, United States of America.Conclusion: The temperature incidents identified could result in a breach of the cold sterilisation (steri) protocols and quality defects. Recommendations were made to address these deficiencies to improve the South African citrus industry’s global competitiveness.Contribution: This research allowed the citrus industry to investigate and adjust current cold chain practices to improve the integrity of the entire export cold chain, potentially resulting in a higher quality product and increased revenue.