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January 26, 2021
Craft brewers battling to survive blanket ban on alcohol
According to a survey conducted by The Craft Brewers Association of South Africa (CBASA), the vast majority of local craft brewers don’t see themselves surviving the third alcohol ban.
The poll was conducted among CBASA members following the announcement made by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 11 January 2021. The survey found that:
• 87.5% of craft brewers (7 out of 8) are at risk of shutting down permanently due to the economic impact of the third ban on alcohol;
• 60.3% of small business owners of craft breweries have had to retrench staff, with job losses occurring as a result of depleted reserves and savings which were used to survive the previous blanket bans on alcohol;
Several businesses that Eyewitness News spoke to said that they had struggled to settle their bills and maintain jobs since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the third ban on alcohol sales in December last year in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.