Winter weather and the current constraints at the Port of Cape Town have contributed to the decline in South African wine exports.
Recent figures released by the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (SAWIS) have shown that wine exports continued to decline during the month of May despite the easing of lockdown regulations in South Africa.
With the Port of Cape Town only operating at 50% of capacity and the recent cold front which brought stormy weather to most parts of the country, wine producers fear that exports for the month of June will decline even further.
According to SAWIS figures, wine exports in May dropped 8.4% to 29.2 million litres. In April, while the alcohol ban on exports and local sales was in place, they fell 73%, resulting in only 7.7 million litres of wine being exported in that month.