Spain has the largest vineyard area, with 15% of world production

Spain has the largest area of vineyards, accounting for 15% of world production, data that show the strategic nature of its wine sector, as highlighted by the Secretary General of Agriculture and Food, Carlos Cabanas, during the inauguration on April 19th of the Day of the Interprofessional Organization of Wine (OIVE), “Recovering the consumption of wine in Spain”.

For Cabanas, the importance of this crop is transferred not only to agriculture and economy but also to the environment. “A crop, he added, which places Spain as the first country on the surface of vineyards, with about 960,000 hectares planted, which accounts for 30% of the total EU and 13% of the world surface, with a production that In 2016 reached 43.1 million hectoliters, which represents 15% of world production”.

It has also highlighted the considerable area of vineyards dedicated to organic farming, which reaches almost 100,000 hectares, almost 20% of the area of permanent crops dedicated to organic farming

The Secretary-General has also stressed the need to further improve the situation of the sector in order to give it greater stability, better knowledge of the data and the market situation, the enhancement of this product among national consumers and further consolidate the position in foreign markets.

Cabanas has insisted on the importance of promoting responsible wine consumption among the young population as a basis for the sector’s future

In order to do so, he has pointed out the desirability of enhancing wine consumption as a differentiating and “healthy” element, as identified in other countries such as France and Italy.

Interior and exterior promotion

In the area of promotion, the Secretary General has valued initiatives such as the Wine Routes that allow not only the wide variety of wines but also the culture, nature and gastronomy of Spanish geography.

Cabanas has highlighted the support that for the stability of the sector supposes the National Program of Support to the Wine Sector in Spain which, in the current period 2014-2018, has an expected annual endowment of 210.3 M €

A program that includes measures such as restructuring and conversion of vineyards, distillation of by-products, promotion and investments and as new measures the measure of innovation, green harvesting and replanting of vineyards in case of compulsory start up by sanitary or phytosanitary risk.

In addition to these aspects, the Secretary-General has highlighted the inclusion of the wine promotion measure in third-country markets, which has led to a significant change in traditional measures to support the sector and has become a key element to improve the competitiveness and internationalization of companies. In this regard, Cabanas has influenced the expansion of the sector to international markets, with exports to countries such as France and Germany under the European Union and consolidation in important markets such as China, the United States or Russia.

Regarding the attacks of French winegrowers, the Secretary-General explained that the Spanish and French governments are working on the establishment of a Joint Committee to promote dialogue between producers and administrations

Lastly, Cabanas has considered the work of the Interprofessional and the extension of the standard approved in 2016, which will allow to carry out promotional actions in the domestic market, good commercial communication practices among operators, improvement of the wine value chain And R + D + i.

Source: MAPAMA

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