4 proposals from the wine supply chain for the post Covid-19

The wine supply chain, which unites the trade associations Confagricoltura, CIA, Alleanza delle Cooperative Italiane, Copagri, Unione Italiana Vini, Federvini, Federdoc and Assoenologi - returns to write to the Minister of Agricultural, Environmental and Forestry Policies, Teresa Bellanova, and does so in order to make proposals with a letter completing the two previous ones already addressed to the Government, the first on economic and fiscal measures to support the liquidity of companies and the second on the granting of extensions in the timing of CMO applications and derogations in the execution of programmes, investments and promotion. At this time, the organizations reiterate, the priority is to ensure liquidity, which is fundamental for the survival of the company and its employees, pending the resumption of economic activities.

 

The proposals concern support for the agricultural and wine-growing world in particular, for which the sector calls for an immediate confrontation with the aim of identifying as soon as possible a strategy to support and relaunch the sector, one of the most important agricultural sectors for the Italian economy.

 

Specifically, there are four hypotheses put forward by the wine world to deal with the impact of the emergency on the wine market, particularly in the on-trade segment and in direct sales in the cellar, which is characterised by a reduction in sales.

 

The first proposal concerns the use of alcohol for the emergency with the opportunity for wine producers to use table wine in stock for distillation, in order to obtain alcohol for medical use, available to the Civil Protection. Distilleries should be responsible for product withdrawal, transport and distillation. It is understood that, in this chain, no link should make a profit.

 

In addition, there is a need to establish a distillation measure to deal with stocks and the potential lack of capacity in the cellars for grapes and must for the next harvest. However, the organisations believe that a number of specific conditions must be set for activation: first, it must remain voluntary and not compulsory, and it must be financed by adequate financial resources, preferably within a new emergency budget for the sector at European level, with the aim of remedying the market shock and the consequences suffered by producers, avoiding distortions in the segment of alcohol used in the mouth. At the same time, the distillation measure will have to be followed, as early as the next wine year, by an amendment to the national provisions on maximum grape yields per hectare for non-geographical indication wines, taking into account, however, the different territorial production specificities.

 

Among the most significant proposals put forward by the wine sector to support the agricultural sector is also the green harvesting measure. The sector hopes that the measure can be activated by the regions, with the aim of reducing production for the following harvesting year and that the Ministry will proceed with a reshaping of the current NSP budget. In general, the green harvesting instrument is intended to eliminate the product while the possibility of introducing a new transitional measure to voluntarily reduce yields with compensation to the wine-grower or proceed with a modification of the measure itself could be explored. Given the lack of manpower in the phase of the year in which green harvesting is normally carried out (June), the wine world also calls for the calendar to be moved to July.

 

The last request of the sector concerns the possibility, for some wine productions temporarily in excess or with difficulties of outlet on the market, to resort to private storage for a part of the quantity in stock. This measure could be of support for some ageing production which would not find a market immediately in the summer months when the on-trade could hopefully reopen.