South Africa has a wine surplus of 300 million litres. Who can help?
It’s already been three years since I bounced from vineyard to vineyard in South Africa. But man, what a celebration it was. When it comes to wine, this country is a goldmine. But South Africa has a problem. What am I saying? A wine crisis. A wine surplus of almost 300 million litres, to be precise.
The surplus was caused by the ban on the sale of alcohol, among other things, as a result of the coronavirus crisis, reported RTL Nieuws as early as July last year.
Prohibition
This is already the second time this has happened in a short period. In May and June last year, there was also a period of prohibition to ensure that fewer people were admitted to hospital as a result of alcohol use, leaving more time for coronavirus patients.
South Africa is dealing with one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, and it has had a major impact on the wine industry and everyone who works in it. The prohibition initially applied for two months, but an alcohol ban was imposed for more than 19 weeks! This resulted in a 31% decline in local wine sales. More than €225 million in revenue was lost due to the lack of wine tourism, and at least 1,400 people lost their jobs. Production continued as usual, but the wine could not be exported either. The result? A considerable wine surplus.
Support South Africa, drink wine
According to experts, it could easily take another two years for the surplus of 300 million litres to disappear. In short: do you want to support South Africa in these difficult times? Drink South African wine! Buy it at the supermarket, from your favourite wine shop, or take a look at the new wine merchant ChinChin Wines. By selling wine, they support winegrowers and the children of fruit pickers, who lost more than 50% of their income last year because of the lockdown. Every month ChinChin Wines selects a number of wineries with a special story that produce unique wines. Information about the winery employees, the winemaking process and the wines they produce can be found via the website and social media channels.
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