Wines of South Africa has confirmed what South African vintners have long know: wine exports to the UK are dropping and China is the market of the future.
SA wine exports to the UK, South Africa’s largest market, were down 15% from December 2009 to November 2010 and sales by value were down seven percent, WOSA told the Sunday Timesnewspaper.
“Packaged wines, in particular, have slumped with sales dropping 19% percent over the past seven years,” the newspaper reported.
Confirming the focus of South Africa’s vintners, the paper reported that wine brands were focusing on emerging markets such as China where SA wine exports were up 76% last year, albeit from a low base.
WOSA is apparently developing a strategy for the Chinese market including a Chinese website and a book on SA wine. Steps in the right direction, but the body responsible for marketing South African wine is going to have to do a lot more to catch up to draw level with the marketing bodies of other wine-producing nations.