South Africa: Alcohol consumption down due to tough economy, higher taxes

Distell Group CEO Richard Rushton says alcohol consumption in South Africa has decreased due to tough economic times as well as tax, 702 reported on September 10.

Rushton sat down with Bruce Whitfield to chat about the liquor industry in South Africa.

The country is one of the larger consumers with 250 bln litres of alcohol consumed

He says while there is growth in alcoholic beverages across the spirits and wine industry, as well as premium products like ciders, beer consumption has fallen.

“55 percent of that alcohol is beer, about 17 percent wine - that is relatively small given the fact that we are a big producer - and then the rest is ready to drink and spirits,” Rushton said.

“I think our consumption has fallen off, obviously economic times affect the consumption habit but also tax and the relative price has gone up quite a lot in South Africa.”

He says Distel Group reflected 40 percent revenue growth in South Africa, outside the customs union.

“East Africa is a vibrant place to be doing business in. I was in Kenya last week and you have got an economy growing between five and a half and six percent.

“With growing levels of urbanisation, more females coming into working populations in Africa, we are seeing growths starting to emerge for wine, spirits and other products beyond beer and that is exciting for us as a company,” Rushton added.

12 September, 2019