The Portuguese Farmers Federation (CAP) welcomed the measures announced by the Government for Douro winegrowers, but warned that the entire national wine sector is facing a crisis, demanding the extension of support to all regions of the country. The secretary-general of CAP, Luís Mira, stated that solidarity with the Douro is unequivocal, but that he does not accept that this translates into forgetting the producers from other regions.
The farmers pointed out that the Portuguese market is being pressured by the massive entry of Spanish wine, often without inspection control and origin certification, marketed at extremely low prices with which Portugal cannot compete. According to CAP, this costs Portuguese producers tens of millions of euros per year.
The confederation also warned of the need to reduce the competitiveness gap between Portugal and Spain, noting that the neighboring country has been receiving support for production factors such as energy, fuels and fertilizers more than 30 times higher than those of Portuguese farmers. To this is added the decline in consumption, the contraction of exports in several markets and the pressure on prices.
The Government announced support of approximately 12 million euros for Douro winegrowers who cannot sell their production this campaign, being a one-off solution for this year. The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, added that for the future, the solution for the Douro region should be structural, through the creation of a permanent fund.
