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Vinpro: ‘Deeply concerned by the blanket approach to alcohol trade’

The announcement that the country would revert to Covid alert Level 3, which prohibits the domestic sale of alcohol for on- and off-site consumption, came as the number of confirmed cases across SA exceeded one million.

In response to the announcement Vinpro MD, Rico Basson, said: “We share the president’s concern over the sudden and severe spike in positive Covid-19 cases and related deaths and understand the need for drastic measures to address it, but we are disappointed and deeply concerned by the blanket approach with regard to alcohol trade that government has taken yet again to curb the spread.”

Many lessons had been learned from lockdown Level 5 and 4, including that the restriction of legal trade of alcohol fuelled the growth of the illicit market, he added.  

“Because this illicit market is outside the regulatory reach of government and operates uncontrolled, it leads to devastating consequences from a health and economic perspective,” he said.

As an alternative to an outright ban, Vinpro had submitted proposals, including alternative interventions, to mitigate risks and formally engage with government. 

“It is unfortunate that these proposals did not find their way into the final regulations to ensure a differentiated approach. We truly believe limitations on wine sales can be imposed in a less damaging manner that would alleviate the impact on the healthcare system and decrease transmission, while still helping to preserve livelihoods,” said Basson.

Alert Level 3 is set to be in place until 15 January 2021.

Vinpro has estimated that the previous two bans resulted in a loss of more than R7.5bn for the wine industry in sales revenue.