Opportunities for producers who do
their homework, writes Ray Smuts
CANADA holds promise for South African wine exports but if this country hopes to carve a niche for itself producers will have to do their homework and improve delivery turnaround times.
This is the word from Canadian public relations man Kerry Harris whose company DBA has been retained by Wines of South Africa and SATOUR to advance the visibility of South African wines and the Cape winelands as a destination of choice to Canadian consumers.
The Canadian market is highly competitive and retail shelf space finite. Right now consumers are interested in South African wines along with all New World wines which are collectively gaining at the expense of Old World wines, but to sustain and grow sales will require meeting the stringent quality, price, terms and service requirements of Canadian retailers, says Harris.
Wine retailing in most of Canada is dominated by liquor control boards that sell alcoholic beverages through their province-wide network of outlets. The largest is The Liquor Board of Ontario (LCBO) which, with an annnual turnover of R13,25 billion, is the biggest buyer of wines in the world.
Michael Fagan of the LCBO says South Africa is the 10th most popular country of origin for wines sold by the the LCBO with sales increasing by 20% last year on 1999.
The LCBO is forecasting an 8,8% growth for 2001 and there are real opportunities for local producers provided they do their homework on how to present to the board, are supported by licensed agents and familiarise themselves with Canada's labelling requirements.
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