The Ministry of Agriculture announced, Monday 24 November, “plan out of national crisis” for viticulture, which provides a budget of 130 million euros to uproot vines and calls on Brussels to take action “European crisis reserve”.
“The government is spending 130 million euros to finance the new definitive tampering plan demanded by the wine profession”For “rebalancing supply and restoring viability of struggling farms in the most vulnerable watersheds”he wrote in a press release.
This plan was announced on the eve of the opening of the International Exhibition of Equipment and Knowledge for the Production of Wine-Grapes, Olives and Fruit-Vegetables (Sitevi), in Montpellier, which will be attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard. He came to respond “a degraded situation, characterized by the impacts of climate change repeatedly affecting harvests over several years, the continued decline in wine consumption – especially red wine – and major geopolitical tensions” that affects exports, the ministry’s bottom line.
In addition to envelopes for huddles, the plan also provides “extension of structural loans until 2026 guaranteed by 70% by Bpifrance”Who “the criteria will be reviewed to better reflect the economic specifics of viticulture and will be extended to cooperatives”.
“Save our viticulture sustainably”
Finally, the plan provides new steps to address this“reduction of social costs” : while 5 million euros were issued in November “for payment of social contributions”viticulture “will once again benefit from reduced costs” next year, “up to 10 million euros”according to the ministry.
Apart from these steps, MI Geneva “asks the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, to mobilize European crisis reserves, in particular to finance the crisis distillation of non-market excess stock, especially in cooperative warehouses”.
“This very significant new financial effort, despite its very difficult budgetary context and subject to a financial draft law, proves the government’s determination to save our viticulture on a sustainable basis”M said.I Genevard, quoted in the press release.
