Even smaller grape harvest expected

The wine industry, which is struggling because of severe drought conditions in the Western Cape, is predicting an even smaller grape harvest than had been previously estimated.

The local wine industry is the ninth-largest producer of wine in the world and contributes 4% to global production.

SA exports 440-million litres of wine annually and sells 400-million litres locally.

According to industry body the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems, a second crop estimate of the wine grape harvest in the second week of January predicts a much smaller harvest than previous estimates published at the end of November 2017 — possibly the smallest since 2005.

Francois Viljoen, consultation service manager for wine industry body Vinpro, said at the weekend that the declining trend predicted in the past two months could be attributed to warm and dry conditions that occurred in early December.

Virtually no rain fell during that period and many hot days — above 35°C — were recorded. Together with persistent southeasterly winds, this increased the water consumption of vineyards, said Viljoen.

The wine industry was a key provider of permanent and seasonal work in the agricultural industry, and the drought would have an effect on seasonal workers as the harvest period would shorten because of the smaller crop, Vinpro said.

Drought conditions have been prevalent in the Western Cape for the third consecutive season, with major dam levels at about 26.6% full compared with 41.6% in 2017.

Most producers depend on water from the various irrigation schemes. Rationing since early in the 2017 growing season means water quotas have been cut by 50% to 80%.

“This available water was not enough to meet the needs of the vineyards at this stage,” Viljoen said.

“Vineyards are now beginning to show symptoms of water shortage and declining berry growth.

“Smaller berries mean a lighter harvest with lower juice levels, which contribute to lower volumes,” he said.

The drought would hit producers hard financially, said Vinpro MD Rico Basson.

“This challenging season does have a negative impact on producers’ income potential, but lower stock levels and smaller international crop yields now also provide the opportunity to give momentum to a structural income adjustment,” he said.

“Businesses now have to focus on the appropriate packaging of what they have to offer when discussing price points. Opportunities created by the drought crisis must be fully exploited to benefit the producer in the long term,” Basson said.