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Cape open for business with wine export go-ahead during SA lockdown

Published:  08 April, 2020

South Africa’s wine industry breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday as permission was granted for wine to be included in allowable fresh produce products for export.

Following intense lobbying of the South Africa government by an Industry Exporters Task Team, the Minister of Transport stated in a release on Tuesday 7 April: “During the lockdown period, the transportation of the wines and any other fresh produce products at the sea ports and international Airports Designated as Port of Entry for export is allowed.”

The latest decision by the South African government followed an earlier concession for the wine industry, allowing it to complete harvesting and processing during a strict three-week day lockdown, which began 21 March.

Rico Basson of Vinpro, which represents 3,500 members of the South African wine industry, tweeted, “We are very grateful for the dispensation to allow the exports of South African Wine”.

He added that while there “are still a few grey areas” in the regulations, the task team would do its best to clarify these as soon as possible.

A statement from The Exporters Task Team also praised the decision.

“Government and all the respective role-players [have shown] an understanding for the industry’s challenges through this concession, as nearly half of South Africa’s wine production is exported and a restriction on exports would have a severe effect on wine-related businesses, but most importantly the livelihood of close to 300,000 people employed by the wine industry value-chain."

Describing the devlopment as "very good news for the industry", Wines of South Africa's (WoSA) UK market manager Jo Wehring clarified that, "this exemption only relates to finished product that is ready for shipping in either bulk or packaged format", adding it is "a massive step in the right direction and will bring much relief". 

The Task Team emphasised that it recognised “the severity” of the Covid-19 pandemic, asking all businesses and people to “strictly adhere to the regulations” set out by government to ensure the safety of all employees during the lockdown.


WoSA recently announced that the 2020 vintage would deliver 'exceptional wines', after a last minute concession from government allowed harvesting to take place.   




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