The National Association of Wine Origin Denominations (ANDOVI) considered positive the 12 million euro support announced by the Government for Douro winegrowers, but argued that this measure should be only the first step of a national response to the crisis affecting the sector. The association, which represents the 14 wine-producing regions of mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores, stressed that the difficulties in marketing production and the drop in grape prices are not exclusive problems of the Douro, warning that all Portuguese wine-producing regions face similar situations.
This year's harvest began earlier and there are already regions concluding the campaign, with field signals confirming the national scale of the problem, according to ANDOVI. The association hopes that Douro support will be rapidly extended to the remaining regions of the country and argues that this type of support should be financed through public resources, namely from the State Budget, to ensure that no region is excluded from support mechanisms.
ANDOVI calls for the extension of direct support to winegrowers in all regions with Denomination of Origin and Geographic Indication affected by marketing difficulties. However, the association believes that the response cannot be limited to emergency support, also requesting increased funding for the promotion of Portuguese wine and strengthened partnerships with the Regional Wine Commissions, both in the domestic market and in external markets.
The association also considers medium and long-term intervention necessary to correct the structural problems of the sector, including better regulation of the table wine market, greater adjustment between production and consumption, reduction of the imbalance between red and white wines, and reduction of competitive pressure resulting from the growth of imports. For ANDOVI, the crisis affecting Portuguese viticulture requires a national, coordinated and structural response.
