According to Arlindo Cunha, "the international panorama in the wine market is not looking good at all", which has had repercussions on Dão wine.

"In terms of exports, in 2023, there was a slight reduction in value, of around 1.6%, which was a combination of, on the one hand, a reduction in volume in liters, down 5.8%, and, on the other, an increase of around 3% in price", he explained.

Arlindo Cunha said that there was "a reduction in volume that was compensated by the increase in average price" and that, "ultimately, what counts is the final value", which remained in a "near stagnation, with a small reduction of 1.6%".

According to the president of the Regional Viticulture Commission (CVR) Dão, "this is a generic situation", not only of Portuguese wines, and that it occurs in the wake of events such as the covid-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and the instability in Europe and the whole world.

For 2024, the CVR Dão predicts "that the total amount of wine to be certified will be more or less the same as in 2023" and that, therefore, "there will be no change, because the times are not for great optimism".

"We are talking about 20 million liters of certified wine. We have to have some restraint in terms of optimism. We are in a situation where it is not safe to make predictions and it is best to play it safe", he admitted.

Therefore, when carrying out the exercise of forecasting the budget and activity of the CVR for 2024, the scenario established was to "maintain zero growth in relation to 2023", which is even considered positive, considering that "the international situation is very difficult".

Arlindo Cunha said that the markets in which Dão has declined the most were the United States, Spain, Belgium and Germany.

"On the other hand, we grew in Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands", he said, adding that, at the moment, Canada is the main export market.

Regarding prices, "the market that pays the best is the American one, with an average price of around five euros, and the lowest is the Spanish one, around 2.8 to three euros", he added.

In Portugal, the official considered that Dão wine is "at a quite reasonable level".

"In the mass distribution market, in large stores, it has a fairly low average price (around four euros). In the HORECA market (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafeterias and Catering), the price is much higher (around 12 euros)", explained Arlindo Cunha, adding that, "combining these two components, it will be around 6.7 euros per liter, on average".

In the opinion of Arlindo Cunha, both in Portugal and in Europe, the market faces challenges that need to be addressed and, in this context, he defended that measures such as "crisis distillation" and support for "green harvest or green pruning" should be implemented.

"European wine was draining very well, until several markets began to shrink due to the instability that is being experienced. And, therefore, at this time we have some accumulation of 'stocks'", he explained.

One way to solve this problem of surpluses until the market improves is "through measures that the European Union already takes from time to time", such as crisis distillations, transforming wine into alcohol.

"We must prevent grape prices from falling drastically. If that happens, producers give up and abandon", he warned.

Another measure that he defended that should be considered is "green harvest or green pruning".

"When, in a few weeks, we make an assessment of the production, if we see that we are going to have a high production campaign on top of the one that was already last year, the creation of a pruning or green harvest measure may be justified", which involves "farmers selectively discarding part of the grapes and, obviously, being compensated for it", he explained.

Leia Também: Até junho, há vários jantares vínicos em Tróia (Portuguese version)