The UK remained South African wine number one export market by far in 2024, despite a fall in both value and volumes.
Total exports to the UK – a combination of packaged and bulk wine – were down 6% to 2.6bn rand. Volumes were also down by 6%, to 8.73m litres.
Despite the declines, sales of South African wine in the UK are still bigger than the next three most important export markets – Germany, the Netherlands and the USA – put together.
Wines of South Africa, which released the figures on January 23, said the performance reflected the fact that per capita wine consumption in the UK peaked in 2009. Consumption in the US has fallen since 2017.
“As in other markets, these decreases had been further exacerbated over the past year in an environment of mounting geopolitical tensions, with inflation continuing to erode the disposable income of wine lover,” WOSA said.
South Africa’s global exports were up 4% in value terms, with volumes stable.
Rico Basson, CEO of South Africa Wine, sounded an upbeat note.
“The South African wine sector has experienced two consecutive small harvests coupled with structural downward adjustments in both the national vineyard and total production,” he said. “Still, we are planting wiser, enhancing our climate resilience, introducing more drought-resistant varieties.
“The industry has an optimal stock-to-sales ratio as we move into the 2025 harvest. This bodes well for both the domestic (60% of volume) and export (40% of volume) markets. We continue to be celebrated for quality. There’s a lot to be proud of.”