Agriculture News South Africa

SA wine industry under pressure

Engineering News reports that the decline in South African wine exports might cause the industry to contract, which will, in turn, result in jobs losses and less income to reinvest in wineries, vineyards and marketing.

Yearly statistics, released by non-profit industry organisation South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (Sawis), show a significant decline in South Africa's wine exports since 2008 when total wine exports stood at 407.3 million litres.

Non-profit industry organisation Wines of South Africa communications manager Andre Morgenthal, according to Engineering News, says that exports have been on a downward trend in the past year, owing to continued global economic difficulties, the strong rand and strong international competition. "While export figures to the UK are down significantly, the figures we receive from the UK show an upward trend in our market share of wine sales above £5, with growth in (the on-trade value)," says Morgenthal.

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