Wine industry shifts to bulk solutions

26 Oct 2012 - by Liesl Venter

In line with international
trends, more and more South
African wine is being shipped
in bulk, says Hans Calitz of
Central Logistics.
“There are various reasons
why there has been a switch
from cased bottled wine to
bulk shipments,” said Calitz,
“ranging from a change in
production and consumption
patterns to the impact of
innovation and technology on
the industry.”
This includes the advent
of the flexitank that offers
more versatility while
efficient bottling plants closer
to end markets offer more
competitive pricing.
Not only does bulk wine
transportation logistics
provide a safe and reliable
alternative to shipping masses
of glass across the world,
it also has environmental
benefits and is ultimately a
more cost-effective way of
transporting the product.
“By shipping in bulk, wine
suppliers are able to supply
wine at a more affordable
price,” said Calitz. “This is
due to savings in transport
costs, import duties, glass and
bottling costs, working capital
and even foreign exchange
exposure due to the cost of
packaging being assumed
in the destination market
currency.”
According to a recent study
by Rabobank International
on the rise in the global bulk
wine trade, the ability to
ship wine in bulk has had
growing implications for
how the industry conducts its
business.
“The dramatic rise in bulk
wine shipments relative to
bottled wine shipments over
the past decade has been
somewhat symptomatic
of how the world’s major
wine import markets have
evolved,” says the report.
“Shifting competitive
dynamics in markets such
as the UK, the US and
Germany have led to subtle
yet significant changes in how
value is shared by producers
of popular premium wines.
“As many producers
confront the legacy of a
decade of oversupply and
the convergence in quality in
the popular premium wine
market segment, the very
nature of the bulk wine trade
and the competitiveness of the
world’s major wine-supplying
nations have been brought
into sharper focus.”
Central Logistics is the
exclusive agent in South
Africa for The Braid Group, a
UK-based logistics company.
They are also the owners
and manufacturers of bulk
container solutions for the
transportation of liquids such
as the Flexitank.
But, said Calitz, it is not
only in the transport of wine
that containerised bulk is
gaining popularity.
“Containerised bulk as a
sector has seen significant
growth on its own in the last
few years and it continues to
see growth,” added Calitz.
“More and more general
bulk cargo is being moved to
containerised bulk as it allows
for easier handling, is more
cost-efficient and less timeconsuming.
Added to that
is the environmental benefit
as it does minimise carbon
footprint significantly. If you
ship in bulk then it is less
cargo per TEU than when one
is using containers for bulk.”