Douro producers surveyed to update production cost data

The Douro Professional Winegrowers Association (Prodouro) revealed today that it is promoting a survey to obtain “up-to-date data on real production costs” for its members in the latest campaigns.

In a statement, Pro Douro clarified that its partnership with Tras os Montes and the University of Upper Douro (UTAD) was motivated by “the importance of effectively determining the costs of grape production in the Douro’s delineated areas”.

Grape growers protested in Regua, Vila Real district, on Thursday against cuts in port production and wine imports, as well as higher production prices, warning of a pre-disaster situation in the Douro region.

During the protests, some complained that grape prices had not risen “in about 25 years”, while prices of production factors have been rising exponentially, especially in the last two years.

In May, Produro expressed concerns about producer sustainability in an open letter to the Minister of Agriculture, defending supply management and prioritizing production.

The open letter follows an interview given by the Minister of Agriculture to the newspaper Público in April and follows a joint request for a hearing to José Manuel Fernández by four organizations representing Douro production: the Douro Regeneration Federation, the Douro Regeneration Alliance, the Associação da Lavoura Duriense, the União das Adegas da Região Demarcada douro and Prodouro.

“We consider the most urgent and highest priority to be managing supplies and evaluating our production,” Produro president Rui Suárez told Lusa news agency after the release of the document targeting the new guardians.

In the interview, the agriculture minister revealed his willingness to listen to farmers, warned about unused wine stocks and argued that support for new vineyard plantings “must stop.”

The 2023 harvest saw some social unrest in the Douro region as large companies did not buy or reduced their purchases of grapes from producers, citing difficulties in selling wine.

“Either we address business sustainability today or I don’t know what the future is going to look like,” he said.