As we had anticipated, on Wednesday 1 April, the European Commission released €40 million to support French winegrowers (see EUROPE 13840/21).
The funds, drawn from the crisis reserve, will finance a temporary exceptional crisis distillation measure, aimed at removing up to 1.2 million hectolitres of surplus red and rosé wine from the market to stabilise prices.
France’s wine sector is under mounting pressure from shifting consumer preferences, climate change impacts, geopolitical upheaval and falling bulk wine prices. Despite a 16% reduction in production compared to long-term averages, the surplus remains significant, threatening the livelihoods of producers in regions specialising in red and rosé wines.
The aid includes a payment of €33 per hectolitre to distil unsold stocks to relieve the market before the 2026 harvest.
Éric Sargiacomo (S&D, French) said, “after two small harvests and 35,000 hectares grubbed up, stocks have fallen slightly, but this has not been enough to boost prices. Let's hope that this new move to divert surplus stock towards distillation will finally help”.
The regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/lfe (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)