DROUGHT
Even smaller grape harvest expected
The drought will also affect seasonal workers as the harvest period shortens, says Vinpro
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. ...
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