At the prestigious Salon International de l'Agriculture in Paris, Europe’s largest agricultural event, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, delivered a decisive message of support for France’s embattled wine sector.
Meeting with the French Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, and key representatives of the wine industry, Hansen confirmed the allocation of EUR 40 million from the EU crisis reserve to finance the emergency distillation of surplus French wines.
Emergency Distillation to Relieve Market Pressure
The measure will allow for the withdrawal of over 1.2 million hectoliters of surplus red and rosé wines from the market. The French sector has been struggling with:
- A sharp decline in domestic and export demand
- Collapsing bulk wine prices
- Saturated inventories ahead of the 2026 harvest
The intervention directly supports France’s national wine crisis exit plan, approved under the recently adopted Budget Law, which earmarked EUR 130 million to finance structural adjustments in the sector.
According to Commissioner Hansen, the measure is designed to restore a temporary market balance before the 2026 harvest, buying time for longer-term structural reforms such as vineyard grubbing-up and varietal transitions toward more market-relevant grape varieties.
Structural Transition: Beyond Emergency Aid
The distillation measure complements national strategies aimed at:
- Reducing excess vineyard surface
- Encouraging adaptation to evolving consumer preferences
- Supporting transitions to climate-resilient grape varieties
The French wine sector, particularly in red wine production, faces structural overcapacity due to declining consumption trends. The intervention, therefore, is not simply a financial rescue, but part of a broader rebalancing strategy.
The Commission’s message is clear: short-term liquidity relief must go hand in hand with long-term structural transformation.
Source: WineNews
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