South Africa has a new wine body to cater for producers and trade interests

The South African wine industry is expected to have a new central body, SA Wine NPC, and the body will represent the producer and trade interests.

The body will be introduced in June 2023 and that is according to media reports coming through to BusinessTech Africa.

The introduction of a new body comes amid concerns over fragmentation within the wine industry, as farms continue to face declining profitability.  

The announcement was made on Thursday by Rico Basson, managing director of Vinpro, which represents close to 2 600 South African wine producers, cellars, and industry stakeholders.

“We want to consolidate the various wine industry bodies. Together they are funded by millions of rand a year through various levies, but are all of them still relevant?” Basson said at the annual Vinpro Information Day.

“Currently we play a bit all over the show and that does not give the industry the efficiency needed from speaking in one voice to enable growth, development, and innovation. We believe a central body will provide a central point of accountability and a single narrative due to greater coordination, speed, and agility in optimising our resources.”

Basson added that the industry bodies SA Wine Industry Information and Systems (Sawis) and Wines of South Africa (WoSA) – which promote the exports of SA wine – will not be incorporated under the new central body, but joined via contracts.

“There seems [to be] consensus and happiness that this is the right way forward,” added Basson.

Representing Vinpro is chairperson Anton Smuts who echoed the need for the wine industry to have one strategy and united action, saying they have a failed state.

“In reality, we have a failed state where there are too many promises and little being done about it. Fragmentation and a lack of focus negatively impacts productivity. But together we can enable the SA wine industry to grow on a level playing field,” said Smuts.

In addition, Basson anticipates a lot of consolidation in the wine industry due to challenges like rising input costs. This is because profitability continues to decline at the farm level.

The publication has it that Vinpro research shows that 9% of wine producers are sustainable, make profits, and can replant.

However, about 50% make low profits, 3% reach breakeven, and 38% are making a loss.