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.

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Since the earliest days of maritime trade, piracy has been a great cause of concern for the maritime community. During recent years it has evolved into a highly lucrative “profession”, which serves as a financial outcome to people in some of the poorest regions of the world, including Somalia, while disrupting important international supply chains at a great cost to trade. This paper investigates the geography of modern maritime piracy and the common socio-economic circumstances that underlie the causes of Somali piracy. Key findings include the fact that maritime piracy in the Gulf of Aden has recently declined as a result of coordinated international efforts, but remains a serious threat with cost implications for the maritime transport industry and world trade. The paper concludes by identifying the need in Somalia to change the incentive structure that promotes piracy as an alternative to legal pursuits. This can be achieved by restoring a central authority in the country, creating a stable and safe social environment, and re-establishing formal economic and financial systems.

South Africa is currently one of the “dirtiest” economies in the world in terms of carbon emissions. The South African economy is heavily dependent on energy-intensive industries, such as mining and primary minerals beneficiation, which in turn rely on fossil fuels as a source of energy. Sustainability is still a relatively new concept in South Africa, but awareness is growing, and there are several on-going initiatives aimed at reducing the country’s total energy consumption. The objective of this paper is to apply the TIMBER framework to assess current transport decarbonisation activities in South Africa. The article discusses a limited field survey of ten important logistics experts in South Africa to establish whether the findings of the researchers are similar to the perceptions within the logistics sector of major industries in South Africa. This paper concludes by providing possible solutions for reducing carbon emissions in South Africa’s logistics industry.