Asaja expects a fall in the harvest and the price of grapes and wine in Castilla-La Mancha
The wine sector of Asaja Castilla-La Mancha has noted a decline in the harvest, which combined with low stocks in wineries and excellent quality in grapes makes it foresee that prices should evolve upwards.
After meeting in Tomelloso (Ciudad Real) to evaluate the start of the harvest, the agricultural organization has indicated that the dry autumn of 2021 together with the recent heat waves of spring and summer this year generate much uncertainty regarding the campaign.
The first forecast is that it will be well below the average of the last five campaigns, according to sources from Asaja Castilla-La Mancha.
The sector has also highlighted the good health status of grapes due to the absence of diseases that affect quality, so it understands that the prices of grapes should be higher than last year.
In any case, Asaja has said that they should cover production costs not only because it contemplates the Food Chain Law, but because this year have skyrocketed, as a result of the continuous increases in agricultural inputs.
Asaja has reminded farmers not to deliver their product without having agreed on a price that must be indicated in the contract of sale, mandatory.
It called for greater determination when discussing any controls in the sector, from preventing it from entering the marketing circuit of wine made with by-products or alcohols of non-wine origin to monitoring the movements of production between the different autonomous communities.
In this regard, it also reiterated the need to control industrial yields in the different grape varieties, in order to put order in wine production.
Asaja noted that the proposal was already submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development in the last Agrarian Council, although the next harvest campaign will begin without regulating this issue.
In addition, Asaja has called on the Ministry to increase the staff and resources in this campaign to ensure controls and ensure compliance with regulations, as well as the Food Information and Control Agency (AICA) as to the Guardia Civil in order to achieve the objective of traceability.
SORCE: AGRODIARIO.COM