Peso da Régua, Portugal, Sept. 30, 2024 (Lusa) - The 2024 harvest is uncertain and anguish for small and medium-sized winegrowers in the Douro Demarcated Region, who are leaving part of their grapes in the vineyard because they lack buyers.
"Last year I managed to sell everything, this year I'm leaving half in the vineyard," said António Alves, from Moura Morta, Peso da Régua, who speaks of a harvest of sadness and far from the festivities that were spreading across the Douro at the time.
The winegrower finished the harvest on Friday, but only of the grapes destined for the benefit (the amount of must that each producer can use to make Porto wine) and a further 20% of the rest.
"The rest is left hanging on the vines," he told Lusa, explaining that the company to which he sells the grapes claims that it can't dispose of the wine in stock.
He says that around 40 tonnes of grapes remain to be harvested, which means he loses around €35,000, and so far he hasn't found a solution, explaining that he can only make wine at home for self-consumption.
"I've received an offer to buy a barrel of wine (550 litres) for €175," he said, considering that this is not enough to pay those who harvest for €75 a day.
Operators are claiming that sales have dropped, especially of red wines, as they have had to buy fewer grapes from farmers. This difficulty has become more pronounced this harvest, and as a result, some vineyards have lost part of an entire year's work.
Farmers have been knocking on many doors, including those of co-operative wineries. Many of these wineries have decided not to take on new members to ensure that they will be able to sell and pay their current members.
"Last year was so-so, this year nobody wants the grapes, 50% of my harvest is also all hanging on the vines," said Desidério Guedes, a producer in Régua and Mesão Frio who emphasised how painful it is to leave the harvest.
He fears that the situation could get even worse next year. "We lack two things: a strong cooperative and a union to protect us. We're abandoned here," he stressed, acknowledging that he might leave the business.
Desidério harvested part of the grapes at the beginning of September and is scheduled to cut another seven tonnes on 7 October, stressing that he could leave "around 20 tonnes" in the vineyard.
He has already received part of the money for the harvest he delivered and will pay for the rest of the harvest with it.
"It's a lot of grapes. People are all sad. You can see it all over the region. We've been taken by surprise, and we've been knocking on doors and knocking on doors, and nobody wants us to; there's no solution in sight for this," he lamented, warning that other economic activities in the villages, such as commerce, are also going to be affected by this crisis.
Inocêncio Lúcio lives from the vineyard and is an angry man. "If it wasn't for the Douro farmers, there would be no tourism," he emphasised, pointing out that it was the farmers who helped build the World Heritage landscape and that part of the current problems is due to the import of Spanish wine.
For years he sold his harvest to a co-operative winery, but he didn't receive the money from the harvest and so he looked for a company as an alternative.
However, this year, he has only sold the processed grapes and another 20% that he will harvest on 10 October, leaving "around 12 tonnes" in the vineyard.
"It will be late, but it's better for them (companies). It hurts our wallets," she said, explaining that after last week's rain, the grapes could rot more easily.
Marinete Alves was one of the proponents of the "Save the Douro winegrowers" petition, which has collected 2,100 signatures, 400 short of the goal of submitting the document for discussion in parliament, and acknowledged that the outlook for the future "is bleak".
"If we carry on like this, in 10 years we won't have the Douro and tourism will come to see what the Douro used to be like, because the vineyards will go to waste," she stressed, acknowledging that she has already cried a lot because she looks at the vineyard and sees what she's going to leave there, namely around 10 tonnes of grapes because there's no one to buy them.
The producer advocated the creation of direct support for winegrowers. "A subsidy for the winegrower's loss of income, but direct," she said.
The Ministry of Agriculture announced crisis distillation and a €100 million credit line with subsidised interest rates aimed at cooperatives and companies in the sector that process grapes for wine.
However, the winegrowers say the support doesn't "reach the little ones".
"For about five years now, there has been a national crisis distillation, and the Douro region has also been included, but on the contrary, our problems are getting worse year after year. The winegrower is finding it harder to sell his product," said Marinete Alves.
Concerning the credit line, the Minister of Agriculture said that "cooperatives and companies will only receive through this line the amount equivalent to the payments they make to grape producers" and that "the 2023 campaign is also eligible, which allows for the regularisation of overdue payments to producers".
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