Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

07 October 2026

3-minute read

The October fuel price hike is a hammer blow to the road freight logistics, pumping up the pain at fuel pumps across the country.

Every litre of fuel consumed on South Africa’s roads reflects the underlying health of the country’s logistics economy. Changes in fuel prices have a far-reaching effect on the country’s supply chain, transport systems, and wider logistics industry, and even extend to the pricing of goods on store shelves. The fuel price hike pushes the price of fuel to the highest it has been in the history of the country.

Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association says that depending on the type of vehicle a person in the transport industry has and the routes that he or she drives, the steep fuel increases that came into effect this week can add on anything between 33% and 55% of daily expenses. This means that from every Rand that a person earns, between 33c and 55c goes towards fuel. Effectively, transporters will have to assess if they have the financial resources “to cushion that sort of impact” on a daily basis. Ultimately, transporters are going to have to negotiate with their customers as the cost of goods increase due to the fuel price hike. This will inevitably filter down the supply chain to the end consumer who must now pay a much higher price for the goods they purchase.

The October price increase exposes just how much the broader logistics sector is exposed to the volatility of global oil markets. Gavin reiterates that the Road Freight Association has advised government to find a way to insulate the country from “these sort of price pressures” that occur more frequently nowadays.

Both supply and demand of fuel have been affected:

• Supply because of what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz in the Red Sea, hampering the route by which oil gets out.
• Demand because the Northern hemisphere is going into the winter season, which will result in an increase in the use of fossil fuel burnt for heating.

Gavin states that due to the weak Rand, South Africa struggles with paying pressure when using the dollar to purchase fuel. But the country does have “the technology to create fuel from oil” through SASOL; a process that should have been undertaken a long time ago. Gavin points out that it’s time for us to prioritise making our own fuel to control the very steep prices we are faced with.

Another concerning factor is the large amount of the population who use paraffin for cooking, heating and lighting. It is high time that government intervene to reverse the effects of the fuel price hike and lessen the pain at the pumps when South Africans fill up.

Listen to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Gavin Kelly here.