The South African wine industry exported 368-million litres of wine, valued at R9.9-billion, in 2022. Exports were 5%, or 20-million litres, lower than in 2021.

The value of exports in 2022 was also lower compared with R10.2-billion worth of wine exports in 2021. However, Wines of South Africa (WoSA) deems it positive that export value only decreased by 2.4%, while the rand per litre on the whole showed marginal growth as producers navigated rising costs, shipping challenges and shortages in the supply of packaging goods.

The main reason for the decline in export volumes year-on-year is shipping constraints at the Port of Cape Town, particularly during what had been an extended period of adverse weather conditions, which prevented ships from docking during most of April. The two-week strike at Transnet’s operations in October last year also hampered wine export volumes.

The total price per litre increased by 2.2%, mainly supported by a 5.3% increase in rand per litre, which WoSA says is a positive step in the direction of premiumisation for both packaged and bulk wine categories.

Bulk wine exports equate to 62% of total export volumes, however, in terms of value contribution, packaged wine is the value leader at 77%.

The UK, as South Africa’s largest wine export market, grew by 5% in volume, while the previously exponential Chinese market growth slowed down owing to its extreme lockdown measures imposed throughout the year.

The country experienced an overall wine consumption decline, which reflected in the total exports volume decline of 38%.

The German market also recorded a 9% decline in volumes exported from South Africa, owing to rising inflation in Germany, an increase in living costs – as is the case in many countries globally – and an emerging culture of drinking local wines in the country.

WoSA CEO Siobhan Thompson comments that the recovery of exports was hampered in 2022 by various factors out of the control of producers, however, the image of South African wine continues to improve globally. “South Africa has been awarded various top accolades and ratings in a host of competitions and professional ratings. CapeWine2022, the industry’s premier showcasing, proved to be a major success and attracted top buyers from around the world. We hope to see this translate into more exports,” she adds.

South African wine producers are set to have a major presence at the ProWein Germany event happening in March, which will also help with image growth.

Industry body Vinpro MD Rico Basson believes South African producers can be commended for the responsible manner in which they approached the marketing of wine during the past year. “Our exporters remained focused and this despite massive cost pressure, supply chain disruptions and surplus stock, while not discounting their product, which would have eroded the work that was done over the past few years to reposition South African wines,” he concludes.