Subsidies for wine exports

Wine producers will benefit from subsidies of 10 cents (slightly more than 100,000 USD) per bottle for the exports to states outside the EU, within the limit of one million 0.75 litre-bottles of wine, in a bid by the Romanian State to boost sales of Romanian producers on foreign markets. The average price per bottle of Romanian wine exported to the United States, Japan or Israel stands at 1.5 dollars. “This is a rather small subsidy, since Romanian exports of wine need more solid support that we hope to find somewhere else,” says Ion Dobronauteanu, chairman of ONIV, the association including the majority of wine producers. He says wine exports, coming third after edible oil and sunflower and livestock in this year’s statistics, can contribute to a steadier trade balance. Last year, exports of Romanian wine came to almost 23 million euros, with the main destinations being Germany and Moldova. For this year, exports are expected to increase by 10-15%. ZF