Gathered at the Dionysud show to discuss the wine crisis and the levers to get out of it, the unionists agree on the essential return to prices guaranteeing the profitability of farms. Price snatching or price control are levers that divide.
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We agree on the diagnosis of the disease, less on the remedies. On the sidelines of the Dionysud trade fair in Béziers, Vitisphere invited this Tuesday, November 5, the departmental representatives of the wine profession and employees* to speak around a round table on the roots of the current wine crisis and especially on the exit levers to activate. “Remunerative prices are the cornerstone of the current situation. Without price there is nothing »summarizes the Hérault representative of the Confédération Paysanne, Thierry Arcier, winemaker at the Perdigaïre estate in Saint-Pargoire. Price level of wines therefore, but also chronic deconsumption, successions of economic crises (brexit, Trump taxes, Covid, war in Ukraine, etc.), and repetition of climatic hazards have caused production costs to explode and undermined production models. profitability and cash flow of wine farms.
When considering ways out of this crisis, the rise in prices remains essential, but the points of convergence on the means to achieve this are becoming less obvious. Thus, the measure of regulating supply through grubbing up divides minds as to its consequences. The representative of Modef Didier Gadéa thus castigates “ the ineffectiveness of uprooting which has always been used as a regulatory measure, without ever resolving anything”. His counterpart from the Confédération Paysanne Thierry Arcier joins him and is offended by “financing grubbing up while at the same time we continue to subsidize plantations! »
Supervision and minimum price
Positioning itself in defense of the principle of temporary uprooting “to preserve production potential”the representative of Rural Coordination Pascal Marié does not see any interest in grubbing up “unless remuneration of €10,000/ha”. The representative of the Hérault Chamber of Agriculture, Guilhem Vigroux, supports the strong appetite of winegrowers “for the restructuring plan of their vineyard in order to maintain profitable production and in line with market needs”.
The control of prices by the state and the definition of a floor price is a guarantee of remuneration defended by Modef or the Peasant Confederation, while the Rural Coordination does not adhere to this principle in the face of disparities in production costs depending on the region and an open market, joined on this point by the Fdsea. “What do we do when we find ourselves exporting against competitors from other countries who do not have the same price framework? »points out Guilhem Vigroux. For him, it is rather the need to be able to propose a segmentation of the offer in line with the needs of the markets which would make it possible to best adjust the remuneration of wine production. The representative of the CFTC, Jean-Pierre Chivoret, regrets that the representation of marketers or consumers is absent from this type of debate. The specter of mass distribution as “gravedigger of French viticulture”in the words of Pascal Marié, concentrates the resentment of most of those present.
Educate to consume
Supporter of a floor price, the president of the young farmers of Hérault Rémi Dumas also underlines the importance of the demand for wine, threatened by continued deconsumption. “Education of younger generations is essential to stop this trend, we must take the time to educate our young people about moderate consumption”he defends. “Especially since without this education, young consumers are all the more exposed to very excessive consumption patterns”adds Guilhem Vigroux.
From everyone's perspective, the effort to achieve a decent price for producers is far from immeasurable. For the consumer, around twenty cents more per bottle would make it possible to achieve a viable balance for production. This is when the crucial question comes up: “where are the marketers? “.
*: With Thierry Arcier spokesperson for the Departmental Peasant Confederation, Didier Gadea president of the wine section of Modef, Pascal Marié, spokesperson for Rural Coordination 34, Rémi Dumas, president of Young Farmers 34, Guilhem Vigroux, representing the Chamber of Agriculture 34, Jean-Pascal Pelagatti, representing the FDSEA 34, Jean-Pierre Chivoret, for the CFTC and David Veyer for the CFDT.
