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Barley production in the southern Cape region could suffer this year amid government's ongoing ban on the sale of alcohol.
Agri SA said it was gravely concerned about the impact that the ban was having on the entire alcohol value chain ranging from producers of barley, hops, fruit, wine and maize to glass manufacturers and processors.
"Farmers will be harvesting barley towards the end of the year, raising uncertainty about the coming season," said executive director, Omri van Zyl.
He said barley is mostly produced in the Southern Cape, and that "this will have a major impact on their regional economy following a devastating drought last year."
Agri SA said that South African Breweries is the only beer producer that procures almost 100% of the ingredients locally for their operations and is severely constrained by the current ban.
SAB recently announced the cancellation of R5bn in capital investments after losing 30% of its annual production due to the restrictions.
Van Zyl said the same was happening in the wine industry which he said had lost R3.3bn in sales revenue while 117 000 jobs were lost. "More than 800 small alcohol manufacturers are facing bankruptcy."
"The ban on alcohol sales is corporate carnage," he said and called on the government to reverse it.
