• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Lifestyle
The Covid-19 alcohol sales bans have not only injured the alcohol industry, but also the Mzansi economy. Photo: Flickr

Liquor confiscation ‘welcome, but govt. must learn’

10th Sep 2021
Leave your comfort zone and make money, says foodie

Leave your comfort zone and start hustling, says foodie

1st Jul 2022
Recipe: Make Makile’s crispy chicken wings

Recipe: Make Makile’s crispy chicken wings

1st Jul 2022
Experts have warned farmers to prepare for another steep fuel price increase this month. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Caught in a price spiral: Farmers brace for major losses

1st Jul 2022
Parts of the Western Cape, such as the Central Karoo, are still experiencing drought. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Drought-burdened farmers receive R48m. in fodder

1st Jul 2022
Through his company, Iboyana agri farming, Mhlengi Ngcobo is changing the lives of youth and women in his community. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Self-taught farmer doing his bit for the greater good

30th Jun 2022
Research has revealed that less than three in 10 farmers in the upper parts of Africa use technology. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Technology not a priority for Africa’s smallholder farmers

30th Jun 2022
The Mamahlola Communal Property Association was among the first to be established in 2000, but due to underinvestment, their land soon turned into a symbol of government’s land restoration failure. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

The poverty-fighting tool that’s not fighting poverty

30th Jun 2022
Langeberg & Ashton Foods provides employment for around 250 permanent and 4 300 seasonal staff. Photo: Supplied

ICYMI: Search for fruit factory buyer continues

30th Jun 2022
Michele Carelse, founder, and CEO of Feelgood Health, Aquaponics horticulturalist, PJ Phiri Gwengo, Dr Didi Claassen, Afrivets executive for technical and marketing support, and Sibusiso Xaba, co-founder and CEO of Africa Cannabis Advisory Group. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Podcast: Learn the basics of growing microgreens

29th Jun 2022
John Deere Launches Africa’s Largest Capacity Combine. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Get inside Africa’s largest combine harvester

30th Jun 2022
Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 30% of what we throw away, and could be composted instead. Babalwa Mpayipheli uses the technique of bokashi composting. Photo: Supplird/Health For Mzansi

How to make compost with kitchen scraps

29th Jun 2022
Archive photo. The drought in a region of the Eastern Cape is already having a devastating impact on urban farmers. Photo: Supplied/NSPCA

E. Cape drought: ‘No hope. Our animals are dying’

29th Jun 2022
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
11 GLOBAL MEDIA AWARDS
Fri, Jul 1, 2022
Food For Mzansi
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
    • All
    • AgriCareers
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Farmers
    • Groundbreakers
    • Innovators
    • Inspiration
    • It Takes a Village
    • Mentors
    • Movers and Shakers
    • Partnerships
    Through his company, Iboyana agri farming, Mhlengi Ngcobo is changing the lives of youth and women in his community. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Self-taught farmer doing his bit for the greater good

    Reggie Kambule from Villiers in the Free State runs a 185 hectare farm where he breeds livestock and cultivates maize. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Engineer-turned farmer takes pride in good results

    Agripreneur 101: Sweet success for jam producer

    Agripreneur 101: Sweet success for jam producer

    Real Housewife turns passion for wine into a business

    Real Housewife turns passion for wine into a business

    David Mthombeni is building an agriculture empire for his family.Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Farmer gets his hands dirty while building family empire

    Gauteng farmers give youth a leg-up in agriculture

    Women in farming give youth a leg up in agriculture

    Watch out, these young farmers are on fire!

    Watch out, these young farmers are on fire!

    Unati Speirs has vast experience in agri-business strategy and business funding and was recently appointed as a new board director for Hortgro. Photos: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Youngest Hortgro hotshot takes transformation to heart

    Prof Kennedy Mnisi a dedicated young man who wants to help livestock farmers with animal health education to prevent diseases. Picture. Supplied/ Food For Mzansi.

    Animal scientist works hard to earn top dog status

  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
No Result
View All Result
Food For Mzansi

Liquor confiscation ‘welcome, but govt. must learn’

by Duncan Masiwa
10th Sep 2021
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
The Covid-19 alcohol sales bans have not only injured the alcohol industry, but also the Mzansi economy. Photo: Flickr

The Covid-19 alcohol sales bans have not only injured the alcohol industry, but also Mzansi's economy. Photo: Flickr

A breakthrough in the fight against illegal alcohol trade has been welcomed by the South African Liquor Brand Owners Association (SALBA). This follows the confiscation of duty-free liquor worth R15 million from a warehouse in Mpumalanga.

With the support of role players in the liquor industry, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) seized more than 152 000 bottles (12 700 cases) of spirits after a year-long investigation. The liquor was originally destined for the overseas market but being recycled back into local trade.

Equipment to alter the original products were also found.

ADVERTISEMENT
level 3 Sibani Mngadi, chairman of the South African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA). Photo: Twitter
Sibani Mngadi, chairman of the South African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA). Photo: Twitter

Explaining the modus operandi, SALBA chairman Sibani Mngadi says that syndicates purchase product intended for export tax-free, as it would only be subjected to duty at the destination country.

“The bottles are then rebranded to conceal that they are meant for export, and resold into the South African market at a competitive rate. A duty-free spirit product can undercut the retail price of the duty-paid spirits brand by up to 41%,” Mngadi explains.

In some cases, syndicates also replace the caps of the bottles and remove the lot codes from the boxes.

Blunt policy interventions have consequences

Welcoming the multimillion-rand liquor confiscation, SALBA’s CEO Kurt Moore says it is time government realised the unintended consequences of blunt policy interventions such as alcohol sales bans and trading hour restrictions.

“To put things into perspective, in 2020 the illicit market was worth R20.5 billion, which is R6.5 billion more than the R14 billion budget that the South African Police Service is allocated for criminal investigations.

SALBA CEO Kurt Moore. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

“In 2020 SARS lost R11.3 billion to the illicit alcohol trade. This is R1 billion more than the R10.3 billion allocated for Covid-19 vaccines,” Moore points out.

According to Euromonitor International, the illicit alcohol market has grown to 22% of the total volume of alcohol sold in South Africa following the sales bans.

Spirits constitute 48% of the illicit market (mainly through smuggling), followed by homebrews at 24% and sugar-fermented ales at 22%.

Moore warns that ongoing restrictions will continue to encourage the illicit alcohol industry and further damage the legitimate enterprises struggling under the weight of these irrational measures.

ADVERTISEMENT

Smugglers ‘will be brought to book’

Illicit liquor smugglers are only harming the local industry at a time when Covid restrictions were obviously a significant impediment to the industry, SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter said in a press release.

“Such criminal action will not be tolerated but confronted, and all those involved in this smuggling network will be brought to book. SARS has the mandate to combat illicit trade and such activity is clearly illicit and unfair competition for the local industry,” stated Kieswetter.

“We are committed to making it hard and costly for any taxpayer or trader who does not comply with the tax or customs laws of the country.”

ALSO READ: Alcohol bans: ‘Why did govt. disregard expert advice?’

Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain.

Tags: alcohol industryillicit tradeKurt MooreSALBASARSSibani MngadiSouth African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA)South African Revenue Service (SARS)
Previous Post

These low-cost foods are good for your heart

Next Post

Liewe Lulu: Farmer’s wife wonders if she’s flirting with fire

Duncan Masiwa

Duncan Masiwa

DUNCAN MASIWA is a budding journalist with a passion for telling great agricultural stories. He hails from Macassar, close to Somerset West in the Western Cape, where he first started writing for the Helderberg Gazette community newspaper. Besides making a name for himself as a columnist, he is also an avid poet who has shared stages with artists like Mahalia Buchanan, Charisma Hanekam, Jesse Jordan and Motlatsi Mofatse.

Related Posts

South Africans are once again enjoying their beer after a tough 16 months. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

SA beer industry regains its fizz post Covid-19

by Tiisetso Manoko
26th May 2022
0

South Africans are once again enjoying their beer after a tough 16 months which included four alcohol bans due to...

Agripreneur 101: Meet a mead brewer

Agripreneur 101: Meet a mead brewer

by Nicole Ludolph
7th Mar 2022
0

Agripreneur 101: When the Western Cape was hit by the worst drought a few years ago, Nokukhanya Mncwabe was inspired...

Mzansi alcohol lovers are increasingly embracing craft beer and wine produced by black owners. Photos: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

‘Mzansi craves black-owned craft beer and wine’

by Staff Reporter
13th Jan 2022
0

Covid-19-related restrictions have ruined many craft beer and wine businesses, but it also gave birth to a new wave of...

The Covid-19 alcohol sales bans have not only injured the alcohol industry, but also the Mzansi economy. Photo: Naashon Zalk/Bloomberg via Getty Images

ICYMI: Alcohol industry encourages safe festive drinking

by Duncan Masiwa
21st Dec 2021
0

The South African Liquor Brandowners Association has praised law enforcement authorities for adopting a 'zero tolerance' stance on drinking and...

Next Post
Liewe Lulu, why is healing so damn difficult?

Liewe Lulu: Farmer's wife wonders if she's flirting with fire

Parts of the Western Cape, such as the Central Karoo, are still experiencing drought. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi
News

Drought-burdened farmers receive R48m. in fodder

by Staff Reporter
1st Jul 2022
0

In case you missed it: Parts of the Western Cape are experiencing ongoing drought conditions. The provincial government stepped in...

Read more
Through his company, Iboyana agri farming, Mhlengi Ngcobo is changing the lives of youth and women in his community. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Self-taught farmer doing his bit for the greater good

30th Jun 2022
Research has revealed that less than three in 10 farmers in the upper parts of Africa use technology. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Technology not a priority for Africa’s smallholder farmers

30th Jun 2022
The Mamahlola Communal Property Association was among the first to be established in 2000, but due to underinvestment, their land soon turned into a symbol of government’s land restoration failure. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

The poverty-fighting tool that’s not fighting poverty

30th Jun 2022
Langeberg & Ashton Foods provides employment for around 250 permanent and 4 300 seasonal staff. Photo: Supplied

ICYMI: Search for fruit factory buyer continues

30th Jun 2022

Get inside Africa’s largest combine harvester

ICYMI: Career boost ahead for KZN agri graduates

‘Inhumane farmworker transport must stop’

How to make compost with kitchen scraps

Farmer 101: ‘We need farmers that are forward-thinking’

E. Cape drought: ‘No hope. Our animals are dying’

THE NEW FACE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

With 11 global awards in the first three years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

Leave your comfort zone and start hustling, says foodie

Recipe: Make Makile’s crispy chicken wings

Caught in a price spiral: Farmers brace for major losses

Drought-burdened farmers receive R48m. in fodder

Self-taught farmer doing his bit for the greater good

Technology not a priority for Africa’s smallholder farmers

  • Our Story
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824
WhatsApp line: +27 81 889 9032
Marketing: +27 71 147 0388
News: info@foodformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought

Copyright © 2021 Food for Mzansi

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version