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Recent export numbers, published by SAWIS (South African Wine Industry Information & Systems), let many of the original and mostly euphoric estimates of the impact of the Soccer World Cup on the market position of South African Wines appear in a much more critical light. The SAWIS numbers show on one hand that wine consumption in the country itself has slightly risen (by 1.6 % to roughly 3 m hl) during the championship year (November 2009 to October 2010), but that, on the other hand, exports have been shrinking during that same period by 3.3 %. Officially, the strong SA Rand and the world economic crisis are held responsable, the loss beeing attributed above all to the British market were bulk wine imports have gone down dramatically.

The question, if the Soccer Championships have really added to the prestige and fame of South African Wines in the world, can, of course, only be definitely answered in the medium or long run. But if the decline of exports should be confirmed and continued in the coming months, this would mean that the country has dramatically failed with it's gamble to invest all marketing budgets exclusively into soccer-related issues, at the expense of traditional, excellent marketing tools like the Cape Wine show. SAWIS estimates that by the end of 2001 the unsold wine of the country could amount to some 3.93 m hl, a seventh more than at the end of this year.