The Government created a 100 million euro credit line with subsidised interest rates for wine producersthe Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said in a statement this Sunday.
According to the information, the Government created an ordinance (signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, and the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento) to be published urgently “called ‘Treasury line – wine sector’, with the interest rates assumed by the State Budget, aimed at cooperatives and companies in the sector that are dedicated to the transformation of grapes into wine”.
The measure intended for cooperatives and companies dedicated to transforming grapes into wine and loans are granted by the maximum period of three years. Quoted in the statement, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, explained that with this measure, cooperatives and companies will only receive “the amount equivalent to the payments they make to grape producers“, being that the 2023 campaign is also eligible to regularize overdue payments.
The ruler also considered that “the 100% interest rate bonus is further proof of the Government’s strong commitment to supporting the wine sector”.
This measure, according to the executive, is yet another that is part of the strategic plan to alleviate the imbalance in the market created by the excess stock of red wines in Portugal.
One of the measures already announced is crisis distillation, financed by the European Commission, to distil some of the excess wine, the alcohol from which will be used for other purposes.
The Government considered that it was due to the lack of proactivity of the previous executive that the current situation was reached.
In 2023, there was a reduction in wine consumption in national and global terms. In Portugal, the harvest was also larger than normal in 2023 and the same is expected for this year, due to the restructuring of the vineyard that made it more productive.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
