Thu 18 Dec 2008
The wine industry is expected to feel the impact of the global credit crunch, and the effect of the adverse weather conditions in November next year, reports the Cape Argus.
The S A Wine Industry & Information Systems says that domestic wine sales have remained constant at 313 million litres in the past year, and is expected to be so next year as well. The wine harvest is expected to be 7 % smaller next year, at just over 1 million litres. The biggest decrease in the wine crop is expected to be in the Orange River region, with a 20 % drop, and in the Worcester region, with a 8 % drop estimated. The only region to show reasonable growth is expected to be the Klein Karoo, with a 5 % increase.
Whilst wine exports rose by a third in the past year, largely due to the favourable Rand exchange rate for importers, and doubled in the past five years, the credit crunch is expected to dampen export sales growth next year.
