According to the Committee of European Wine Producers (CEEV), the treaty is intended to "significantly boost" European wine exports.
The European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV) has reiterated its "firm support" for the agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries, stressing the "fundamental role" that this agreement will play in ensuring the long-term economic sustainability of European wineries, it said in a statement.
"After 25 years of negotiations, the time has come to swiftly finalise and ratify this agreement. The initial provisions on wine market access and the protection of geographical indications were already promising, but the latest revisions addressing environmental issues bring additional benefits to both sides. In these difficult times, the agreement represents a vital opportunity for European wine companies to access new markets and attract more wine consumers," said CEEV President Mauricio González-Gordon.
Specifically, the agreement, which reduces tariffs and simplifies trade regulations between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia), is intended to "significantly boost" European wine exports.
In the case of Spain, the agreement would represent an opportunity for the wine sector to diversify markets within a region that is home to more than 300 million people.
According to the Mercosur 2023 bilateral report, prepared by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, wine and must are the second most exported products by the European Union to the bloc.
According to figures from the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, wine exports to Brazil reached 2.2 million litres in the first quarter of 2024, worth 5.3 million euros, with growth of more than 20% in value both in 2023 and in the first quarter of this year.
The director general of the Spanish Wine Federation, José Luis Benítez, has shown his firm support for the agreement. "At the FEV we generally support free trade agreements as catalysts for our exports, which are an important basis for our growth and competitiveness, and Mercosur is a clear example of this, a bloc with which we also share cultural and historical ties and even the language in many cases. We hope that the entry into force of the agreement will allow our exports to continue to grow in value and further strengthen our country brand," he stressed.
The wineries have pointed out that this agreement is also in line with the European wine sector's commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices.
