(3 minutes read)
· The Southern African Agri Initiative is planning to approach the court in a bid to lift the ban on wine sales in restaurants.
· SAAI is an agricultural interest network of individual farmers. However, it does not represent cooperatives.
· According to SAAI CEO Francois Rossouw, the case will be filed in the court on behalf of about 120 wine farmers.
The Southern African Agri Initiative is planning to approach the court in a bid to lift the ban on wine sales in restaurants. SAAI is an agricultural interest network of individual farmers. However, it does not represent cooperatives. According to SAAI CEO Francois Rossouw, the case will be filed in the court on behalf of about 120 wine farmers. However, he clarified that the legal consultations to file the case is at a very preliminary stage.
South Africa banned the sale of alcohol in March. On 1 June the ban was lifted; but was not allowed for sale to be consumed on-site in restaurants. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an immediate ban on alcohol sales again last Sunday, arguing that the ban was necessary in order to reduce the number of alcohol-related trauma admissions in hospitals, so that there would be space available for Covid-19 cases.
Taking cudgels for wine producers, Rossouw said that wine farmers are very much part of the agricultural production cycle and many also provide stock to wine tourism destinations, including restaurants, on their family-owned farms. And, while wine exports are still allowed, Rossouw says many wine farmers are small and it is not that easy for them to export. He warns that some of these family farms will be lost if the market remains closed.
