Zweli Mokgata

Zweli Mokgata

Festivities will remain flat over Christmas and New Year as carbon dioxide (CO2) shortages are expected to continue, said Coca-Cola South Africa.

After initial CO2 shortages in October, retailers were left with empty shelves where carbonated soft drinks were usually stacked.

Sasol and PetroSA, the largest suppliers of raw CO2, closed down their plants for routine maintenance earlier this year.

This created a major disruption in production at Afrox, the main CO2 refinery, leaving bottling companies unable to produce carbonated drinks at their usual peak levels.

Coca-Cola South Africa released a statement advising consumers and distributors that there would still be some shortages of carbonated soft drinks.

This was after a report from the Western Cape that the shortage was over.

Coca-Cola communications manager Kaizer Nyatsumba said that the report was only partially true.

"The Western Cape is the only area that is now fully supplied with carbonated drinks because of close proximity to Mossgas [in Mossel Bay]," he said.

"The rest of South Africa, on the other hand, will still experience shortages over the festive season."