Wines SA targets Nigeria, Angola

South African wine producers are trying to cater for Angolans’ thirst for sparkling wine and Nigerian demand for bottles of red to penetrate the African market, according to the country’s leading trade body for the industry.

 

Wine producers aim to more than double annual sales growth to 5% in Nigeria, boosting profits from Africa’s largest economy, Matome Mbatha, of Wines of South Africa, said in an interview in Cape Town on Thursday.

Exports of mostly red wine to the West African nation have risen to 4.5 million litres a year, while Angola buys 6 million litres, of which 5 million litres are bubbly wine, mostly shipments of J.C. Le Roux, a low-cost sparkling wine that in South Africa can retail for less than $4 a bottle, Mbatha said.

“They are crazy about J.C. Le Roux” in Angola, “it is the biggest mover in the market,” Mbatha said. “In Nigeria, they really like to consume red wine there, as much as it’s hot, they love your Pinotage, your Merlot.”

Exporters also aim to increase sales in Uganda, Kenya and Ghana, which along with Angola and Nigeria, are either preparing to produce oil or already do. Another key growth market is China, the world’s most-populous nation, where exports increased by more than 30% last year, said Mbatha.

South Africa is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of wine by volume, representing 4 percent of global output last year. The country grows white wine grapes, including Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and its red varieties include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, which was created in South Africa. The country’s almost 100,000 hectares of vineyards are mostly concentrated in the Western Cape and the industry employs 300,000 people.

Wine exports declined to 422.7 million litres last year from 525.6 million litres in 2013, according to the Wines of South Africa’s website.

©2015 Bloomberg News