The Sicilian wine cooperatives in the west of the island are struggling with overproduction and high stock levels. Particularly affected are red wines from the province of Trapani, which, with around 56,000 hectares of vineyard area, is one of the largest cultivation areas in Italy.

As large quantities of wine are currently unsellable or have not yet been called up by trade, the winemakers are demanding quick support before the next harvest. The regional government has since negotiated with the main cooperatives and associations about crisis distillation and green harvesting.

Graziano Scardino, president of the farmers' association "Cia Sicilia", called for a minimum price for distillation of 0.70 euros per liter. Luca Sammartino, agricultural representative of the region of Sicily, has signaled the willingness to run the crisis distillation through unused EU marketing budgets for wine. He assured that all applications would be financed, but the distillation could not technically start before June. In addition, the cooperative wineries are to be further financially supported. Similar strategies are also being discussed by the officials of the Piedmont region to reduce stocks of red wines such as Barbera.

(ru – Image: 123rf)

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