Wine producer La Ric Mal owner and winemaker Malcolm Green and other wine producers from four South African provinces will travel to Lima, Peru, this weekend, with the aim of expanding the market for South African wines.
This expedition forms part of the Trade and Investment Mission organised and funded by the Department of Trade and Industry through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance Scheme.
The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services, and to recruit new foreign direct investment into the country.
Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said the Trade and Investment Mission is part of the department’s efforts to improve bilateral trade relations and increase trade and investment between Peru and South Africa, as well as other countries in Latin America.
Green is optimistic that South African wines will stand out from the rest and capture the attention of many Peruvian wine importers and wine drinkers when they are introduced to them next week.
The Trade and Investment Mission will include a business seminar, business-to-business meetings and site visits to various Lima-based companies that are interested in doing businesses with South African companies.
Seventy per cent of the 980-million litres of wine produced in South Africa yearly is exported to various parts of the world.
Green said the mission to Peru could not have come at a more opportune time, as South Africa’s R38-billion wine industry is currently on the crest of the wave, owing to the strong international demand of South African wines, that is further stimulated by the rand/dollar exchange rate, which is favourable to international importers of wine across the world.
“This is the perfect time to seek international markets for South African wines. We are confident that the mission will be profitable, as the wine industry in Peru is also vibrant.”
Green’s company, La Ric Mal, already exports red and white wines to more than ten countries including China, Mauritius, Nigeria, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Tanzania and Angola.