Minister Thoko Didiza says wine exports are back to pre-Covid 19 levels

South African minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development Thoko Didiza says the wine industry has returned to the pre-Covid 19 pandemic levels.

Didiza says the revenue from South African wine exports increased by 21% to $750 million (R14 billion) in 2021.

The minister, Didiza, is delighted with this improvement as it marks a hike that brought it back to pre-pandemic levels, despite the problems at the country’s harbours.

According to the minister, Didiza who spoke during the opening of CapeWine 2022 in Cape Town on Wednesday, wine was SA’s fourth largest agricultural export product, making up 6% of the overall export revenue of $12.4 billion.

“SA’s wine industry export markets are well diversified, with the UK remaining our leading market, followed by Germany, the US, The Netherlands, Namibia, and Canada,” said Didiza in a report carried by News24.

The veteran minister, Didiza, also noted that the wine industry faced challenges and had raised issues regarding inefficiencies of infrastructure at harbours, which caused delays in exports at the start of the year.

“These are some of the problems we are working to resolve. Transnet has met with some in the wine industry and other subsectors to outline an agricultural strategy,” added Didiza.

“The challenges of deteriorating road infrastructure have also been highlighted several times. We were engaging with Infrastructure South Africa and the Department of Transport, among others, to respond to this challenge.”

At the same time, the minister also acknowledged the work done in the wine industry and agricultural sector as they worked hard to increase transformation and improve farmworkers’ living conditions, saying this year, the visitors can expect to taste wines from over 400 South African producers.

“Transformation is not a zero-sum game. It is more about growing the pie together,” she continued.

“As a government, we continue to view this sector as strategic for job creation as well as for increasing our revenue and prosperity as a country. We hope that you will intensify the efforts to absorb labour sustainably while also ensuring better working conditions.”

Main Image: Wine Farm/BusinessTech