EU AND SOUTH AFRICA STRIKE A DEAL

Published: 23 July, 2008

South Africa and the European Union have struck a deal whereby 43 million litres of South African wine per year, duty free, will be allowed into the EU, in return for the phasing out of usage of names such as Chianti, Mosel, grappa and Sherry by South African exporters. South Africa will now be able to increase annual exports by ten million litres. The EU has linked a free trade agreement signed with South Africa in 1999 with the wine and spirits accord, promising development aid totalling e15 million (10.2 million). Negotiations on such an agreement began in 1994 and EU producers - France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain - had insisted that South African producers dropped the use of names such as Champagne and Port. In an agreement signed last Monday (28 January), South Africa has agreed to phase out the use of these names over five years in export markets, and within 12 years on the domestic market. Quentin Rappoport, director of the Wine & Spirit Association, told Harpers: This is the full agreement and follows years and years of negotiations, particularly over protecting names such as Port, Sherry and Grappa. The quotas are higher because they have taken into account that this should have been signed two years ago. Thank heavens, it's happened at last,' he said.

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