Roadblock: deteriorating SA road compromise more than R7,1 bn worth of Agri produce
5 April 2022
On 5 April 2022, Agri SA briefed the media on the findings of its analysis of survey results from participants in the agricultural sector. The survey was initiated to determine the impact of deteriorating road infrastructure on the sector. The findings are dire, and point to the enormous cost of South Africa’s poor road maintenance for the proper functioning and growth of the sector.
The survey revealed that participating farmers relied on road transportation to move an average of 94% of their produce. On average, participants transported an estimated R23 million worth of agricultural produce by road in the last financial year for a combined total of more than R7,1 billion.
13% of the respondents relied on road transportation weekly while more than 87% relied on roads daily. This explains why 69% of the respondents had at some point attempted to fix affected roads themselves. The respondents on average incurred repair and other related costs of more the R200,000 per participant. While this may be affordable for the biggest sector players, it is untenable for South Africa’s small-scale farmers.
All but two respondents experienced operational challenges because of the state of our roads, with an estimated average of 16% in turnover losses during the last financial year.