( 3minutes read)
· The country witnessed a string of booze bans primarily to ensure safety on roads and to ensure reduction in number of accidents
· The wine sector says that they are severely hit by the restrictions that were imposed on the industry
· Many wine brands outside South Africa quickly took advantage of the vacuum and replaced South African wines, despite the good reputation built by South African wines
The South African government has lifted the latest ban on alcohol sales. The wine sector should have been happy about the development; but they are not. They feel that it has come too late. The result is that thousands of jobs are at stake. The country witnessed a string of booze bans primarily to ensure safety on roads and to ensure reduction in number of accidents. The government was forced to do so because the hospitals were geared to treat the Covid-19 patients leaving very little space for handling other types of cases, especially the trauma cases due to accidents.
The wine sector says that they are severely hit by the restrictions that were imposed on the industry. For 20 weeks or so, wine businesses were not able to earn any income from local wine sales, complains Rico Basson, head of Vin Pro which represents 2,500 producers and other stakeholders in the wine industry.
The third such restriction, imposed on December 28 as South Africa struggled with a second Covid wave, was lifted on Monday. Because of that sporadic ban, the wine sector has lost close to US$ 530 million. This has affected the livelihoods of close to 27,000 people. To compound that, there is lack of space for storing the unsold wine. Since the harvest season has started, freshly picked up grapes will be reaching breweries. They cannot be kept for long. To exacerbate the financial problems being faced by the wine brewers, there is the possibility of prices hitting low because of excess supply. Some of the breweries are contemplating closure sooner or later if the situation continues unabated.
The initial ban in March last year was extended to exports also. That led to many wine brands outside South Africa quickly taking advantage of the vacuum and replaced South African wines, despite the good reputation built by South African wines.
