Costs of bottles have leapt 55% since Ukraine conflict
ANCEVE, the National Association of Traders and Exporters of Wines and Spirits, is calling for “urgent intervention” from the government over escalating glass bottle prices, which are “dramatically” penalising the competitiveness of Portuguese producers.
“ANCEVE is asking the government to urgently establish a platform for dialogue so that, under its patronage, representatives of the wine and glass sectors can analyse the situation and seek the most effective way to address and solve this very serious problem,” says the association today said in a statement.
According to ANCEVE, the recent gradual decrease in the cost of energy has had a positive effect on ship freight rates, but “unfortunately, it has not yet had any impact on the supply of bottles, which continue to be placed on the market at record prices”.
“From north to south of the country, wine producers are being confronted with glass costs that are on average more than 55% above pre-war values and with difficulties in their supply (energy tax, transport value and requirement for advance payment),” the association stresses, adding that “for many producers, especially those in more competitive segments, the increase in the cost of glass, which has no parallel in other countries, leaves them dramatically out of the market”.
Additionally, “there continues to be a shortage of many bottle models (unlike in other competing wine-producing countries), which has forced producers to constantly change procedures and labelling, in order to adapt production to the models available, which seriously affects the consistency of their commercial and marketing strategies”.
ANCEVE recalls that “according to data released by the Vine and Wine Institute, Portugal produced around 688 million litres of wine last harvest. Since most of the Portuguese wine is bottled, it is good to see not only the importance that glass has for this sector but also how wine is the main exporter of Portuguese glass to the four corners of the world”.
Founded in 1975, ANCEVE represents producers and bottlers of wines and spirits from the main regions of the country.
LUSA
