No power, no pinot. 🍾🍾 South Africa's load-shedding crisis is imposing huge costs on businesses. As the country's grape harvest gets underway, there are fears about the impact on the wine industry.
Peter Pentz is happy the vineyard's harvest is coming in but is worried about the futureSouth Africans are struggling with crippling power cuts on a daily basis, which are imposing huge costs on business. As the country's grape harvest gets under way, there are fears about the impact on the wine industry.
"In 16 months from now these grapes will be in your glass and you'll be sipping on some lovely bubbly," Peter Pentz, Groote Post communications manager says. "As soon as the power cuts, it means that [without a generator] none of the operation can continue within the cellar," Mr Pentz tells the BBC. Many wineries are exploring opportunities in Asia - exports to China, for example, have doubled in recent years.The impact is being felt across all sectors of the economy. According to global accounting firm PwC, the South African economy could have increased by around 7% - instead of less than 2% - last year were it not for "load shedding", as the power cuts are known locally.
Eskom is expected to impose load shedding on a continuous basis for the next two years while it works on a plan to extricate the country from the crisis. Load shedding during the harvest season will exacerbate the situation for battered winemakers which have been lurching from one crisis to another.
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