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09.01.2025

Industries: Agrofood

Legal Field | 15 – 31 December

High Level Group on Wine presented policy recommendations for the future of the EU wine sector

The High Level Group on Wine Policy has issued a set of recommendations aimed at ensuring the adequacy of the EU wine sector. These recommendations were endorsed by the 27 EU countries and shared with representatives of the main stakeholder organisations at the group’s final meeting. The group invites the European Commission to assess how and when these proposals can be integrated into the framework of EU wine policy, emphasising the need to support wine producers and regions across Europe to adapt to a difficult future. Commissioner Hansen attended the last meeting and delivered the closing remarks, emphasising the importance of the group’s recommendations and collaborative efforts.

The group’s recommendations consist of a series of specific policy actions designed to address the challenges facing the wine sector and centre on three key areas: aligning wine production with demand, increasing resilience to market and climate challenges and adapting to trends in order to take advantage of new market opportunities.

Firstly, the recommendations recognise the strength and high potential of existing policy instruments, highlighting the need to optimise their use, but conclude that these instruments can be adjusted and strengthened to meet the challenges of the future in order to ensure the sector’s continued success.

The Group emphasises the need to manage wine production potential to tackle structural oversupply, following a coherent and strategic approach at national level, with measures tailored to increase competitiveness, sustainability and resilience. These instruments include targeted grubbing-up schemes for certain regions or wines, a temporary modulation of production potential through a more flexible management system for vine planting and replanting authorisations, or mechanisms to facilitate the adjustment of grape yields.

The group also emphasises the need to strengthen winegrowers’ resilience to climate and market risks, by combating unfair commercial practices more effectively and better targeting support towards enhanced risk management tools and innovative insurance solutions, as well as aligning investments with climate change adaptation plans. With regard to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget for the wine sector, the Group recommends giving flexibility to the financial management and modification of national support programmes dedicated to wine, in order to allow for a quicker reaction to market or climate events.

Finally, the Group emphasises the need to make it easier for the sector to adapt to changing consumer preferences and world market trends by improving data collection, facilitating techniques and the promotion of wine products adapted to new tastes and demands, including de-alcoholised wines, and supporting innovation. It also emphasises the opportunities for the sector in promoting EU wines as messengers of sustainability, landscape protection, rural development and culture, the importance of facilitating direct sales from producers to consumers and the need to promote wine tourism.

(See Documents and studies)

 

INE’s Monthly Bulletin of Agriculture and Fisheries for December

According to the most recent bulletin from the National Statistics Institute, agricultural forecasts on 30 November pointed to a start to  agricultural year with rainfall values close to normal, which will have allowed autumn/winter crops to be sown, although a 10% decrease in the area of oats is expected.

Production of maize for irrigated grain is expected to be the lowest in 14 years, mainly due to the decrease in area.

The unfavourable conditions penalised kiwi production, confirming a decrease in production of more than 1/3 compared to the average of the last five years.

Chestnut production is expected to fall short of production potential for the third year running,  the situation is mitigated by the good quality of the fruit and the increase in prices.

In olive groves, production is expected to increase by 15 per cent, essentially due to new olive groves coming into production, mainly in the Alentejo.

(See Documents and studies)

 

European Commission: EU Agri-Food Trade Monthly Report

According to the latest report, released on 20 December, in September 2024 the EU’s agri-food trade surplus increased by 15 % to reach EUR 6 billion.

This figure represents a significant increase on the previous month, but is still 10 per cent lower than in September 2023.

The EU surplus reached EUR 50.6 billion between January and September 2024, remaining stable compared to the same period in 2023.

In addition, EU exports increased to EUR 19.6 billion in September 2024, while cumulative exports totalled EUR 175.5 billion, an increase of 2 % compared to the same period in 2023.

On the other hand, imports from the EU remained stable in September 2024, totalling 124.9 billion euros in the period from January to September 2024 (+4% compared to the 2023 period).

(See Documents and studies)

 

MARS Bulletin from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre

According to the December edition of the MARS Bulletin, winter crops are in reasonable to good condition in most of Europe.

They remain underdeveloped in parts of Romania and Bulgaria, as well as in eastern Ukraine and large parts of European Russia.

In the Maghreb, immediate rains are needed to create suitable conditions for sowing.

(see Documents and studies)

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