According to recent data released by Wines of South Africa (WoSA), export volumes dropped 5% year-on-year to 368.8 million litres of wine. Sales by value declined 2.9% to ZAR9.9bn (US$577m). WoSA advised that this was due to adverse weather and supply-chain disruption.
“The recovery of exports was hampered in 2022 by various factors out of the control of our producers,” WoSA CEO Siobhan Thompson said.
WoSA pointed to an “extended period of adverse weather conditions,” which hit the shipping port of Cape Town in April. In October, industrial action by port workers caused disruptions for two weeks that impacted the port’s export capacity.
South Africa’s largest wine market is the UK, which took in 96.9 million litres of wine in 2022, a rise of 5% on the previous year. However, the total value of exports to the UK dropped by 5% to ZAR2.4bn.
Germany, South Africa’s second-biggest export market, declined by 17% in value and by 9% in volume terms. WoSA attributed the results to inflation and “an emerging culture of drinking local wines”.
Exports to China fell by 38% in volume, accompanied by a decline in value of 26%. South African wines in the market had been showing “exponential growth” but China’s zero-Covid policy hit demand, WoSA said.
WoSA CEO, Siobhan Thompson comments “On a positive note, the image of South African wine continues to grow with South African wine being awarded various top accolades and ratings in a host of competitions and professional ratings. CapeWine2022, our premier industry showcasing, proved to be a major success and attracted top buyers, influencers and importers from around the globe and we hope to see the impact of this on exports going into 2023.”
view the infographic for further information pertaining to 2022 exports.
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