In the agricultural sector of France, there is a surplus of unsold wine from previous harvests that requires 200 million euros to be destroyed. This will assist producers in avoiding significant financial losses. Due to a decrease in wine consumption, which is a major trend in the country, such a step is considered practically reanimation.
Already drunk
Overproduction arose against the background of the fact that at constant production volumes, people buy less wine than before. The main reasons for this are as follows:
– consumers prefer craft beer;
– prices for wine materials and production increased;
– income level of the average buyer has decreased, etc.
The downward trend in sales volume has been steady for the past few years, but in 2023, it has put the entire industry at risk.
What will the money be spent on?
The funds are planned to be spent not only on compensating the cost of surpluses but also on other types of support for winemakers:
– redirection of alcohol to the production of hand sanitizers and cleaning products;
– production of perfumes from wine materials;
– transfer of production to a new type of activity, for example, olive processing.
With these measures, they hope to stop the collapse of prices so that mass bankruptcies of winemakers do not occur.
Where to get 200 million?
The main problem was that this amount was too large for the French budget. Therefore, it was decided to turn to the European Union for financial assistance. It was possible to substantiate the need, and 160 million euros were provided from the initial EU fund, and the rest will be found from the sources of France.
Europe is sobering up
Reducing wine consumption is not only a French but also a European trend. The drop in sales by country for the year is as follows:
– Portugal – 34%;
– Germany – 22%;
– France – 15%;
– Spain – 10%;
– Italy – 7%.
At the same time, rich people continue to traditionally buy land for vineyards, so the area of wine production increased by 4% in 2022-2023 alone.
