News in brief: France is allocating $215 million (â¬200 million) to address challenges in the wine industry, including a 15% drop in wine consumption due to factors like increased craft beer preference and high cost of living.
The government of France is allocating $215 million (â¬200million) to destroy surplus wine and support wine producers in the country.
According to a BBC coverage, the move follows recent challenges that the industry stakeholders are facing in the country. One such problem is a significant drop in demand for wine as more people are choosing craft beer over it. French wine consumption has dropped by 15% in first six months of 2023.
While there is also the case of wine overproduction, analysts say that the cost of living is making it harder for people to afford wine in France.
The government will buy the excess stock with a bulk of the cash. Meanwhile, alcohol from the stock will be sold for use in household items like hand sanitisers, cleaning products and perfumes.
Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said that the move is to prevent prices from collapsing and ensure that wine-makers continue to find sources of revenue.
In addition, winegrowers are also receiving funding support start cultivating other products, like olive, to cut back on wine overproduction.
However, Fesneau opines that, despite government interventions, the wine industry needs to observe consumer changes as they look at the future and adapt.
The European Union (EU) had provided an initial â¬160 million for the exercise, and the French government topped it up to â¬200 million.
France is not the only country facing the changing behaviour of wine drinkers. Wine consumption data for 2023 by the European Commission, shows a 7% drop in consumption of the product in Italy. Other countries like Spain, Germany and Portugal witnessed drop rates of 10%, 22% and 34% respectively.
