STELLENBOSCH (Reuters) – South Africa’s wine industry expects increased global sales in 2010, although a strong and volatile rand currency threatens its long-term prospects, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The sector expects the 2010 soccer World Cup — which kicks off in South Africa on June 11 — to boost sales hurt by a global economic crisis and weakened economies in key export markets across Europe and in the United States, said Su Birch, chief executive officer of Wines of South Africa (WOSA).