Up to 1000 Bordeaux winegrowers are having financial difficulties in the current poor market conditions, the president of the CIVB said earlier this month.
Speaking to the general assembly of the Bordeaux chambers of commerce, and agricultural organisations, CIVB chief Jean-Louis Trocard said the low level of bulk wine prices and the general poor state of the market meant growers’ financial plight needing addressing.
The CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux), together with the Chambre d’Agriculture de Gironde, Credit Agricole, and other industry organisations such as mutual societies, have put together a support service for struggling growers.
The farmers will be given advice on the business side of grape production including negotiating loans, cutting costs and marketing.
Trocard’s remarks were the result of a survey on the state of the profession, initiated by the Chambre d’Agriculture de Gironde and the CIVB.
A spokesman for the CIVB said the survey did not single out specific areas as being worst hit, but it was clear this was a problem across the region, though not in the premium growing areas of the Medoc and St Emilion.
Sopexa has raised its US budget to €7.5m from €6m, while Onivins is increasing its budget from €10m to €10.276m.
The UK, the Netherlands and Germany will receive the largest share of the funds. The US has also been singled out for attention.
French wine sales in the US have suffered over the last year due to a combination of factors including the weak state of the dollar, and hostility towards French products after the French government refused to support the US and Britain in the war on Iraq.
Written by Adam Lechmere
