Portugal: Winegrowers’ Demonstration in Régua to Defend the Douro
Press release published on the website of the Confederação Nacional da Agricultura – CNA, our member organization in Portugal.
CNA and AVADOURIENSE Promote Demonstration of Winegrowers in Régua
Coimbra, July 26, 2024 | The difficult situation of small and medium-sized winegrowers in the Douro Demarcated Region is drastically worsening due to the benefit cut announced on Thursday by the Institute of Douro and Port Wines (IVDP).
This brutal cut of 14,000 casks (compared to the 2023 campaign) is unacceptable. Added to the cut of 12,000 casks already made in 2023 (compared to 2022), it translates into a loss of about 26 million euros. For small and medium-sized winegrowers, it is another severe blow to their already almost unsustainable situation.
In the Douro Demarcated Region, farmers face very low prices for grape and wine production (the same as 25 years ago), enormous difficulties in selling their produce, with major processing and trading agents threatening not to buy their grapes for the 2024 harvest, and extremely high production costs.
At the same time, the region is flooded with unnecessary imports of wines and musts, and the policies of successive governments only favor the large processing and trading interests in the region, pushing small and medium-sized farmers out of viticultural production.
Without the realization of elections for the Casa do Douro and the return of this historic institution to its legitimate owners, the Douro winegrowers, the rights and interests of small and medium producers are not being represented or assured, namely the defense of decent incomes.
Thus, the farmers, with the CNA and AVADOURIENSE – Association of Douro Winegrowers and Family Farming, gathered to discuss the difficult situation, decided to move forward with a protest and complaint initiative, to be held on August 7, in Régua, starting at 9:30 AM, near the IVDP, and then proceeding to the Régua Station.
We call for the solidarity and support of everyone in mobilizing for participation and dissemination of this protest and complaint action in defense of small and medium-sized Douro winegrowers!
Let’s go to Régua to defend our rights!
Let’s defend the Douro Demarcated Region!
Régua, August 7, 9:30 AM, starting near the IVDP
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