Given its diverse agro ecological zones, fecund arable land and abundant water resources, Ethiopia has the potential to wind its way into the global market and win the much-needed hard currency.
How do our wineries’ push to come up with quality wine looks like? How painstaking is the task on top of challenges? What activities have they done to penetrate the global market? Why must they need support and special treatment from concerned government bodies? What must be the way forward? Do they engage in corporate activities?
With these questions The Ethiopian Herald had approached Castel Winery and Awash Winery Share Company for explanations Yohannes Teshome is Acting Director of Castel Winery. Regarding quality of products he says Castel Winery has started its operation in Ethiopia by acquiring farm land from a State-owned farm in 2008. It developed its own vineyard by planting vine varieties, selected by their quality, and by adapting them to the environment of its location. The grapes thus harvested are the result of professional follow-up and nurture throughout their growth and ripening stage. These processes are the first steps to guarantee the making of intended quality wine.
Castel winery not only applies latest agricultural technologies to develop the vineyard, but also operates with modern and new machineries and equipment which control and insur the correct wining processes to come up with quality product of international standards.
As to him,Castel Winery is staffed by adequate professionals in the fields of vineyard development, oenology and modern marketing. The skills, knowledge and commitment of its staff, together with the carefully handpicked grapes from its farm, enable Castel Winery to produce customer preferred taste oriented and world class quality wine brands.
Biruk Amante is Awash Winery Share Company Brand Content and Public Relations Manager, pertaining to the quality of Awash wine, he says that the company has both central and production laboratories which are determinant tools to filter the quality of wine by screening batch code, sample product, bottling and packaging.
In so doing, there is no doubting the quality of Awash wine due to the fact the purified wine is being immersed from the primary availability of modern laboratory installation. He notes that they did strive hard to replace old machineries and equipment. They as well had consecrated time and energy to expand the two factories on the existing Lideta and Mekanissa premises.
Adding he says that the company had injected 250 million birr as part of the additional investment and expansion tasks. On the average a 240 million birr tax is paid to the government. And it has 550 employees in the two factories in Addis Ababa and 650 employees at the vineyard in Merti.
According to him, Established in 1936, Awash is the leading wine producer in Ethiopia. The brands such as Awash, Gouder, Axumit, Kemila and Gebeta are household names in Ethiopia.
Among the company’s products tagged with Ethiopian Made labels there are wines like Axumite that rings a bell in the minds of wine lovers across the globe. In doing so these products could lend force to augmenting the country’s hard currency reserve.
The company has fully integrated operations, with two wineries in Addis Ababa and a 517-hectare wine farm in Arsi zone of the Oromia State. The company faces challenges to fully exploit potentials, he reflects.
Yohannes notes that Castel Winery belongs to Castel Group which is a French Company engaged in wine making business since 1949. At present the Group is the largest French wine producer and occupies the third rank worldwide, with internationally recognized wine brands.
Castel winery is equipped with relevant skills and work strategies acquainted from the contentious experience sharing and exchange of ideas established with its parent company, Castel Group. The laboratories of the parent company and of the factory are dedicated to assuring that the products meet the set standards and qualities.
Simultaneously, Castel Winery follows strictly the rules of food safety management and possesses accordingly a certification of ISO 22000 : 2005. Its products satisfy all legally approved Ethiopian Standards as well. These features empower Castel Winery to overcome the challenges and
penetrate the highly competitive international wine markets.
Currently, Castel Winery is exporting its products to several Asian, European and North American countries.
Pertaining to elbowing through the global market, Biruk says previously the company had been actively engaged in export-driven pursuits by introducing and promoting a brand name-Gudere wine. But now, it does not yet export its products for global market. The company has been attempting to pry open the market in east Africa – Kenya and also China.
Regarding what the government should do to encourage the wine companies to be competitive and on ways forward Yohannes notes the government could apply moderate tax rate as the nature of the business includes both agricultural and industrial activities. The wine industry and the respective market are still at starting stage in the country. But they have a bright development future if government authorities provide their support.
Local wine makers have to get tax exemption when they sell their product to local companies authorized to import foreign wine on duty free. This will create fair price competition between local and foreign wines.
Enumerating bottlenecks in the winery industry conspiring to cripple the company’s coping up capacity, Biruk mentions the following. Recent advertisement proclamation which illustrates about prohibition of advertising beverage products in the channels of billboard, TV and radio stations is being one of the main hurdles to aggressively engage into the market.
Secondly, scarcity of hard currency is hamstringing the importation of raw materials and resources from abroad.
Thirdly, an unfair and unbalanced treatment of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, in distribution of hard currency and other financial transaction staff is also the other hurdle confronting the company.
Fourthly, though wine is day- to-day drink due to wrong assumption and poor wine culture, here in this country, most people resort to wine only when they eat raw meat.
Relating the painstaking nature of the task, Yohannes further says Castel winery is continuously investing in vine farming and wine making equipment. Installation of new drip irrigation network, erecting additional winning tanks, acquisition of modern tractors and digging boreholes to fetch water are, among others, ongoing investments.
Wine making is quite long process, which need patience and passion of the job. It starts from growing the grapes and proceeds to the step by step wining course. Depending on the color and type of wine, the total cycle will take at least a year or above. Wine is also a result of large labor force dedication, professional and precise follow-up of each step of activities and large investment in equipment and in plant protection networks.
Regarding the corporate responsibility Castle winery is discharging, Yohannes notes the company participates in numerous social actions. It maintained close relationships with local communities and local administrations. A group of local elderlies “Shimageles” is formed to facilitate the communications with the communities.
Castel Winery has actively participated and contributed, among others, in maintenance of school properties, support of amateur sport clubs, repairs of water drainage tunnels, construction of houses of displaced peoples, afforestation of hills and sloppy lands.
Regarding cooperate responsibility, Biruk notes that, his company which believes in mutual growth aims at providing the community with clean drinking water as well as rendering health, education, irrigation and other emergency support services.
He further stated that on a more sustainable manner, the company has initiated the implementation of an irrigation project to help the community that are currently dependent on the government run social-safety-net programs to stand on their feet.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday June 9, 2019
BY MEHARI BEYENE
