Bloemfontein – Farmers’ advocacy group Free State Agriculture has reported widespread panic buying at rural fuel depots as farmers brace for significant fuel price increases set to take effect on Wednesday, 1 April 2026. The organisation says the escalation of the war in the Middle East has already triggered rationing in rural areas, with some depots limiting purchases to just 50 litres of fuel per transaction.
Free State Agriculture warned that the combination of anticipated price hikes and supply chain disruptions is creating shortages, prompting many farmers to stockpile fuel to avoid a crisis during the upcoming harvest season. The group’s commercial manager highlighted that panic buying has caused certain depots to run dry, while others have begun raising prices prematurely.
“The big concern now is whether there is going to be enough fuel when the farmers need to start harvesting their sunflowers in the next month or two, soybeans, and then maize in a couple of months’ time,” the commercial manager said. Fuel prices typically account for 12 to 18% of a farmer’s input costs for specific crops, meaning the hikes could dramatically increase production expenses.
The organisation is calling on the national Department of Energy to provide temporary relief on fuel levies and to shift from monthly to weekly price adjustments to ease the burden during the critical harvest period. It also urged a halt to planned increases in fuel levies that were announced in the recent budget speech.
“Any product the consumer needs has to be transported from wherever it’s produced to where the consumer is using it, whether it is food or any other consumable,” a spokesperson for Free State Agriculture explained. “So the consumer will definitely be hit by fuel price increases.”
A dairy farmer from Bloemfontein, Micky Quin, confirmed he has already stockpiled diesel but expressed deep concern over how long the current instability will last. With razor-thin margins in milk production, he said producers are price takers and cannot easily pass on higher costs.
“Our margins are very low in producing milk… our profits with this diesel price going up are going to become… we’re going to run at a negative cash flow. It’s very difficult at the moment,” Quin said. He added that farms cannot cut costs any further without resorting to job cuts.
Quin reported that he has not yet personally felt the full impact of the fuel rationing but has been informed that after his most recent purchase, he will only be permitted to buy fuel again in the new month.
Free State Agriculture is awaiting the Department of Energy’s response to the looming price adjustments and its calls for intervention. The developments come as South African farmers prepare for key harvesting activities, raising fears of broader knock-on effects for food production and consumer prices nationwide.
