Statistics confirm what industry experts have been predicting for years – bulk wine sales will continue to increase. In 2009 South Africa bottled 245 065 693 litres of wine while only 150 529 346 litres were transported in bulk. Only three years later, in 2012, the picture was very different. South Africa saw 168 848 148 litres of wine bottled compared to the 248 433 122 litres of wine exported in bulk. According to JF Hillebrand South Africa’s managing director, Marliese Martin, the future of the South African wine industry has never looked better – and while moving vast quantities of product in bulk has posed its fair share of challenges, it is ultimately serving the wine industry well.
