Two of Japan’s largest beverage groups, Suntory Holdings and Kirin Holdings Co., have suspended part of the wine sales due to production and shipment delays amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Suntory announced in a statement this month that it would halt sales of some Carlo Rossi brand wines by the end of January due to pandemic-related shipment disruptions and production delay of wineries in Australia.
The three affected wines are Carlo Rossi Red, Carlo Rossi White and Carlo Rossi Dark in 3L format.
The affected sales are expected to resume in April.
The group’s spokesperson revealed that the loading space on ships departing Australia have shrunk to half from normal levels.
The news came after Kirin Holdings Co suspended some sales of its “box wine” Franzia wine in Japan last September, in relation to the transportation congestion in North America.
Those sales are planned to resume in February.
The announcements added burden onto the existing global wine supply blockage induced by pandemic-related reactions such as sudden surge in consumer demand, backlog of shipments, lack of containers, rising costs and port disruptions.
