Peso da Régua, Vila Real, Portugal, June 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The interprofessional council of Portugal's Douro and Port Wine Institute (IVDP) on Friday postponed until July 18 its decision on the the quantity of Port wine to be produced in this harvest.
Today’s meeting, held in Peso da Régua, in the district of Vila Real, ended without a decision on the amount of grape must that each producer can transform into Port wine in the 2025 harvest, with winegrowers fearing that there may be a further reduction in what is an important source of income in the Douro Demarcated Region.
The increase in the quantity of port wine to be produced is precisely one of the main complaints that will be presented at the demonstrations scheduled for Wednesday in the city of Régua, in an initiative by the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) and its affiliate, the Association of Winegrowers and Family Farming of Douro (Avadouriense).
Last year, the IVDP interprofessional association set the quantity at 90,000 barrels (550 litres each), 14,000 less than in 2023 (104,000 barrels).
Within the organisation, there was no consensus between trade representatives, who advocated a further reduction, and producers, who proposed an increase.
Today, at the end of the meeting, no statements were made to the media, and only a new date for the interprofessional meeting was announced, on July 18.
In addition to the president of the IVDP, who represents the State, the interprofessional council is composed of two vice-presidents and representatives of production and trade distributed across the two specialised sections (Porto and Douro).
The amount of the port to be produced is the result of a multidisciplinary analysis of various scenarios, such as wine sales, company stocks and harvest forecasts.
In recent years, operators have complained of falling wine sales and full stocks, while winegrowers lament the low prices at which they sell their grapes and the increasing difficulties in selling this fruit.
Some producers in the Douro region have already received letters cancelling orders for grapes for this year.
In addition to increasing the quantity, Wednesday’s demonstration aims to demand fair prices for grapes, a ban on buying grapes below production costs, priority for regional brandy in the production of Port wine, more supervision of the entry of musts and wines from outside the region and the purchase by the State of surplus stocks from cooperative wineries.
PLI/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
