A total volume of 368.8 million litres of wine left South African shores in 2022, some 20 million litres less than in 2021. These exports totaled R9.9 billion in value, down from R10.2 billion in 2021, with the decline attributed to shipping constraints at the port of Cape Town.

Siobhan Thompson, WoSA CEO, said: “The recovery of exports was hampered in 2022 by various factors out of the control of our producers. During the months of April and October exports were directly impacted by the weather conditions and strike action in the port of Cape Town. Furthermore, the shortage of shipping containers as well as packaging materials, caused additional challenges.”

Total price per litre increased by 2.2%, supported by the 5.3% increase in bulk RPL, another step toward premiumisation for both packaged and bulk wine categories. Bulk wine exports account for 62% of total export volumes, however in terms of value contribution, packaged wine is by far the value-leader at 77%.

The UK, South Africa’s largest wine export market, continued to show growth of 5% in volume, as higher priced bulk exports drove the volume growth with 8% growth in RPL being realised.

The Chinese market, which previously showed strong growth for South African wine, has slowed down due to the extended lockdown measures imposed by the Chinese government, as it saw the total exports value decline by 26% and volumes by 38%. 

In the second largest export market, Germany, a decline of 17% in value and 9% in volume could be attributed to a number of factors such as rising inflation in Germany, an increase in living costs, consumers supporting local businesses, coupled with a lack of tourism to South Africa. Fortunately, with global travel resuming it is expected that this will be revived. 

“On a positive note, the image of South African wine continues to grow with our wines being awarded various accolades in competitions and professional ratings. CapeWine2022, our premier industry showcase, was a success and attracted buyers, influencers and importers from around the globe. We hope to see the impact of this on exports going into 2023.”