Liquor industry concerned at economic impact of level 3
The Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) and Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) says moving the country back to lockdown level 3 is going to have a massive impact on the industry.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has returned South Africa to level 3 of the lockdown after a few weeks under level 2.
The sale of alcohol from retail outlets for off-site consumption will only be permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday.
RASA chief executive Wendy Alberts says restrictions on alcohol are going to affect the restaurants still recovering from the previous bans.
“It is going to have massive economic impact on us, our businesses are closing and profitability structure again is compromised, we only trading during limited dinner time is going to have a massive turnover impact on us and restrictions on numbers in larger restaurant’s are going to be problematic,” says Alberts.
“We are still trying to recover very slow, rebuild our industry slowly. There will be job losses and I do believe we will see a lot of restaurant closures, every time there are more restrictions it is making it difficult for us to manage our businesses.”
Meanwhile, BASA CEO Patricia Pillay says the industry is concerned about the indefinite restriction on the off-site consumption of alcohol sales from Fridays to Sundays.
“We are concerned about the indefinite restriction on the off-site consumption of alcohol sales from Fridays to Sundays, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“There is still no evidence that restrictions on off consumption sales will assist in the fight against the spread of Covid-19. We believe that people should also be given the option to purchase alcohol and enjoy it, in moderation, in the comfort of their homes - thereby avoiding social gatherings,” says Pillay.
Pillay was concerned that limiting retail hours, which further entrenches the illicit industry .
“Last month, a report by Euromonitor International revealed that the illicit trade market has almost doubled in the last three years and is now estimated to be worth R20.5 billion, comprising 22% of total alcohol consumption. In 2020, R11.3 billion was lost to the fiscus due to the illicit alcohol trade.”
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