The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Act, Luis Planas, said that in 2019 it is expected that the Interprofessional Organization of Wine of Spain (OIVE) will launch the new extension of standard that will meet the future challenges of the wine sector, which has the support of the Ministry.
Planas has inaugurated the "Born to be wine" event, organized by Spain's Wine International (OIVE) and AgroBank, which has the participation of experts from the sector, as well as various disciplines related to health, marketing, journalism , gastronomy or distribution.
The day will gather information to undertake future strategies and improve the positioning of Spanish wine in the markets. We must bet on the innovation and incorporation of new technologies, from production to commercialization, to face the growing external competition, fluctuations in production, the stagnation of consumption, climate change and the new demands of consumers , according to the minister.
Regarding the extension of the standard (financing mechanism used by interprofessionals to carry out various actions such as promotion or research, among others), Planas has shown the "strong support" of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to this new Extension of standard, because it demonstrates the maturity and viability of the project.
He stressed that with the implementation of this mechanism, the Interprofessional Organization of Wine of Spain can carry out actions to facilitate and increase access to foreign markets, mitigate and adapt to climate change, promote quality, and design a strategy sector that provides the sector with stability and security.
He has valued the role of interprofessionals, producer organizations and the cooperative sector to improve market regulation and achieve greater added value.
The interprofessionals, key tool to face future challenges
Planas has placed value on the work of OIVE, recognized in 2014 as an Inter-professional Agrifood Organization and in which the entire wine sector is represented. It is one of the fundamental instruments that the sector has to respond to the challenges it faces in a globalized world, he said.
The minister has offered the support of the Administration to the sector and to the wine interprofessional and has indicated that "good efforts must be supported" to successfully address the future challenges that must be answered in order to achieve a fair return for the whole chain.
In this regard, he pointed out that the sector has at its disposal the funds of the Support Program for the Spanish Wine Sector 2019-2023. Its measures include aid for the restructuring of vineyards (75 million euros), investments (54 million euros) and promotion (50 million euros) to boost the image of Spanish wines abroad.
Spain, world wine reference
It has influenced that the sector is a world wine reference, both for the variety and the quality of its wines, as well as a strategic sector. It is a crop that has a presence in all the autonomous communities.
Spain has the largest vineyard area in Europe, with more than 953,000 hectares, which is 30% of the total of the European Union (EU), followed by France and Italy. As for production, Spanish wines are the most exported and the country is, after Italy, the second largest wine producer in the world.
It has encouraged the sector to pay attention to new consumption habits and, in this regard, has commented that the commitment to organic production, as well as the quality of wines -with 136 figures of differentiated quality, between protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications – are aspects that fit into the new wine styles of consumers.
In the current campaign 2018/2019 (in a few weeks the first vintages will begin) the production will be around 50 million hectoliters of wine and must, which is 42% more compared to last season and 14% more than the previous year. average of the last five.