While the Netherlands provides state aid for the voluntary and permanent closure of farms, France offers subsidies for the permanent grubbing-up of ‘surplus’ vineyards (1,2).
Emergency state aid with an initial value of € 150 million (€ 4.000 per hectare, with plans to grub up 37.500 hectares of vineyards first), awaiting the green light from Brussels.
1) State aid to uproot French vineyards
FNSEA –France's first agricultural confederation, which is aligned with Coldiretti on various fronts such as support for new GMOs (3) - is impatiently awaiting subsidies for the definitive uprooting of vineyards, with no further commercial outlets, planned for post-harvest 2024.
'Everything is being done, by the resigning Minister of Agriculture and by professionals, so that by the end of September there will be a first definitive grubbing-up system that will be implemented within the framework of the €150 million state budget ' (Jérôme Despey, first vice-president of FNSEA and president of the FranceAgriMer wine council). (2)
2) France, 100.000 hectares of 'surplus' vineyards?
'In the next future there will be perhaps 100.000 hectares [of vineyards] less in France. There is a need to do this. But there will still be 650.000 hectares of vineyards', the president of the “Comité National des Interprofessions des Vins à appellation d'origine et à indication géographique” (CNIV) had declared in October 2023:
- 'if we do nothing, if we don't work on new product profiles and on finding new consumers, between 100.000 and 150.000 hectares of vineyards are at risk;
– the production potential of French vineyards is far superior to their marketing capacity' (Bernard Farges). (4)
3) French wines, economic difficulties
The economic situation of the wine sector in France has been experiencing alternating critical issues for several years:
– in 2020 and 2023 the excess of production compared to commercial results led to crisis distillation
– in 2021, harvests were lower than expected, as could happen in 2024, with uncertainties about commercial capacities.
4) Permanent eradication of vineyards?
The idea of the definitive grubbing-up of vineyards appears to have been proposed by Copa-Cogeca to the European Commission on 25 October 2023, with the support of the large agricultural confederations in Spain and maybe Italy. (5)
CMO wine , the Common Market Organisation for Wine (wine), does not provide for a grubbing-up scheme in the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, AgriMer France is confident in the green light from Brussels, thanks to the political support of the sector's representatives.
5) Survey of French winemakers
AgriMer France conducted a survey, in the first half of 2024, to gather the views of French wine producers on the solutions to be adopted. The questions proposed and solicited by FNSEA concerned:
– State aid for permanent uprooting (4.000 euros/ha, with loss of replanting authorization), as an alternative to temporary uprooting (2.500 euros/ha, without no possibility of replanting for 4 years)
– extension of vineyards to be subject to aid. Jérôme Despey is confident that €270 million will be available, overall, to uproot approximately 60.000 hectares of vineyards in two phases (6,7).
6) Future prospects
The European Commission has organized a series of high-level meetings for the wine sector, starting from September 11, also in view of the negotiations for the next CAP. It seems curious, a euphemism, that after decades of public contributions for new plants, state aid is now foreseen to reduce production.
Instead of investing in economic growth– through contributions to the promotion of sales of wine products (including dealcoholised ones) on international markets, that is the ecological transition, the conversion to organic farming - FNSEA & Co. are aiming at the decline of one of the most profitable agricultural productions.
Solar Panels instead of vineyards, what future for European farmers?
Dario Dongo
Cover image by Vinosphere
Footnotes
(1) Dario Dongo. Netherlands, state aid to close farms. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.8.24
(2) Alexandre Abellan. €4/ha for arracher 000 ha of vineyards in France “since September”. Vitisphere. 37 https://tinyurl.com/2ffk98k9
(3) Dario Dongo, Alessandra Mei. New GMOs, NGTs. Green light from Strasbourg to deregulation. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.2.24
(4) Bertrand Collard, Christelle Stef. 70 to 150 ha of vineyards in France? Vitisphere. 000 https://tinyurl.com/jdft26jx
(5) Alexandre Abellan. The arrchage of vines today is most requested by France, Spain and Italy. Vitisphere. 10.7.24 https://tinyurl.com/57nmp7e9
(6) Alexandre Abellan. Do you want aids in the arrachage? Vignerons, dîtes-le, maintenant ! Vitisphere. 7.6.24 https://tinyurl.com/bdepyexu
(7) Alexandre Abellan. Plutôt 50 à 60 000 ha de vignes à arracher que 100 000. Vitisphere. 28.6.24 https://tinyurl.com/2bz2d7np
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
