South Africa: South African wines are experiencing a rebound in exports
Harvesting grapes before pressing at a winery located about 60 km from the center of Cape Town (illustrative image).
RODGER BOSCH/AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
2021 will have been a record year for South African wine exports.
They reached 3.88 million hectoliters, for a value of 673 million dollars, a spectacular rebound after a sluggish 2020.
Cheap and of good quality, South African wine particularly appeals to the English, Germans and Chinese.
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In 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic and bans on the sale of alcohol, professionals were predicting a bleak future for South African wine.
They estimated that the sector could lose up to 20,000 jobs and that eight out of ten wineries would not recover.
Nevertheless, 2021 has been a game changer.
Sales took off again, especially exports, which jumped 12% in value.
However, the case was not won in advance, with the disorganization in the ports and the problems of supply of glass bottles.
Moreover, in this regard, South African wine is now mainly exported in bulk.
►Also read: South Africa, the other country of wine
The United Kingdom is still the first destination abroad for southern grape varieties, followed by the United States, Germany, Canada and China.
In Africa, Nigerians, Kenyans and Tanzanians drink the most South African wine.
The sector, which supports 300,000 people and boosts the country's external revenues, goes upmarket every year and boasts today of offering quality wines that are more profitable... enough to preserve the eighth place in the world than ranks South Africa on the wine list.
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South Africa
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