The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Levan Davitashvili, and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of the Italian Republic, Teresa Belanova, discussed the situation in the wine industry in Europe due to the pandemic at an online meeting.
As InterpressNews was informed by the Ministry of Environmental protection and Agriculture of Georgia, the meeting was attended by Paolo de Castro, Vice-President of the European Commission for Agricultural Development, Vice-President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Workshops and Agriculture and Tomaso de Simone, President of the Caserta Chamber of Commerce; Luigi Mio, Vice President of the International Organization of Vine and Wine; Ernesto Abona, President of the Italian Wine Association; and Tina Kezeli, Director of the Georgian Wine Association.
“The situation created by the spread of the coronavirus has created problems with the sale of wine in all European countries. At the meeting, The EU Vice-Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development reviewed the current situation in the wine sector. The conversation focused on the future vintage, which will be the biggest and most difficult challenge for wine-producing countries in the last few years. The governments of the countries are considering various action plans to save the sector. Many of them will have to take radical steps. The Italian Minister of Agriculture has openly and directly stated that we should not create false expectations. With regard to new opportunities, the right emphasis must be made. In fact, for many months and even years there will be a crisis in the agri-food sector and especially in winemaking. At the meeting we talked about the problems in Georgia, including winemaking. SMEs in particular were affected. They were mainly dependent on tourists. It is important for us to support this segment today,” Levan Davitashvili said.
“The meeting in online format was held with the participation of very important guests. The meeting also discussed the “Merano Wine Festival”, which will be held at the end of the year with a completely new concept. It should be noted that in 2021 Georgia will host The “Merano Festival”. Preparatory work is underway with the Italian side,” said Tina Kezeli.
Georgia will participate in the 29th Merano Wine Festival as an honorary guest. The slogan of this year’s festival is “Returning to the roots”
