South Africa, the eighth largest wine producer in the world, is expected to collect the lowest yield of wine grape varieties in 14 years due to arid conditions and weather fluctuations.
A report by Vinpro, a nonprofit organization representing 3,500 South African wine producers, wineries and winemaking related companies, says that this year, 1,238,000 tons of wine grapes will be 1.4 percent less than the 2018 crop.
This will be the lowest yield since 2005, when only 1,171,632 tons of wine grapes were harvested. The South African Wine Industry Information Authority (Sawis) estimates the grape harvest in 2019 at 1,225,620 tons.“This has been a difficult year for our wine producers and wineries. The reduction in vineyard space and difficult weather conditions contributed to a smaller crop, ”said Francois Villoyen, Vinpro Winemaking Service Manager.
The wine industry contributes 36 billion rand (2.48 billion US dollars) to South Africa's gross domestic product.According to the International Organization of Grapes and Wine (OIV), a low yield of wine grape varieties in South Africa is expected against the backdrop of an increase in world wine production to almost record highs in 2018, after a sharp recovery from the poor harvest of the previous year.