Savanna cider lovers, don’t worry – your festive season won’t be so dry

A recent shortage of glass has put some cider consumers in a pickle, and consumers took to social media about the shortage of Savanna ciders being sold out at various outlets countrywide.

“We want to start by apologising and reassuring South Africans that millions of litres of your favourite cider is still being produced each week and allocated to local retailers to make sure that you do not miss your favourite cider over the festive season,” said Eugene Lenford, marketing manager for Savanna cider.

“We are sorry for the low stock levels in stores but we are trying to keep up with you. We have seen exponential growth over the last year and are working around the clock on solutions to produce and deliver more Savanna to customers and consumers across the country,” said Lenford.

Lenford said there was a global glass shortage, further impacted by shipping delays, as a result of the pandemic that has left a number of suppliers and producers on the back foot in the last twelve months.

The demand for Savanna’s range has exceeded supply for an extended period, he said.

“We were working on a number of short, medium, and long term solutions to remedy this with glass and other suppliers to avoid future shortages,” Lenford said.

The cider would be available over the festive season in greater volumes than in previous years.

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Lanford urged South Africans to be patient and not to buy in bulk.

“Remember what toilet paper taught us – leave some Savanna for others,” he said. Hannes Meyer of Lamond Winery in Gansbaai said he was not affected by the glass shortage.

“We submitted our forecast of the year to Consol at the beginning of the year. And haven’t had any problems yet,” he said.

Meyer said he knows of other distillers who were struggling to get the glass they needed. “The problem was due to shortage and the import prices have skyrocketed – that’s why we go to Consol,” he added.

Meyer said other distilleries were also taking their business locally now.

“Glass has always been a problem in South Africa because there was only one big supplier in South Africa in terms of glass, which makes it difficult,” Meyer said.

Elmarie Rabe, manager at Stellenbosch Wine Routes, said they were aware of the glass shortage which affected many of their members.

“This appears to be due to the complete lockdown in production last year, coupled with a buoyant market recovery and some effects due to load shedding,” she said.

Rabe said unfortunately we cannot determine when the backlog will be cleared, but understand that a local glass supplier or manufacturer will be opening a new production plant next year, which will add to their capacity.

“Furthermore. there seems to be an international shortage of glass,” Rabe said.

There is reportedly also a lack of availability of shipping containers at present.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za