Italy launches new ‘crisis fund’ for winemakers in Trentino
The Italian Agriculture Ministry has approved a new crisis fund which will compensate winegrowers in Trentino who suffer a “significant” drop in income due to price volatility or unfavourable economic conditions, it said.
The ‘1st Uva Fund’, which is backed by the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, is being managed by the Consorzio Difesa Produttori Agricoli Co.Di.Pr.A (Codipra) of Trento. Although it was first announced in April, it has now been signed off by the Italian Agriculture minister.
It is Italy’s first income stabilization fund entirely dedicated to the wine sector and follows similar funds set up for the Italian apple and dairy industries in recent years. Growers can apply to become members of the mutual and if they suffer losses of more than 20% of their average farm income, they can receive compensation of up to 70% of the loss suffered.
The fund is supported by the CAP (for every €3 paid by each member companies, EU contributes up to €7) and aims to compensate winegrowers in the event of significant drops in income, arising from market crises, price volatility or unfavourable economic conditions, it said.
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Co.Di.Pr.A cited the increasing instability that winemakers have been dealing with in recent years, from rising energy and technical means, fluctuations in grape and wine prices, and the increasingly complex international dynamics.
Giovanni Menapace, president of Co.Di.Pr.A told Italian food and wine website Gambero Rosso that the tool “will represent a fundamental element for the resilience and stability of Trentino wineries”.
He previously called it a “paradigm shift in the economic protection of [wine] companies” which would complement other tools made already available including a mutual fund dedicated to plant diseases. Speaking when the fund was first announced in April, he noted that “the wine sector will have a new advanced tool at its disposal, capable of responding to systemic crises and not only to climatic events.
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