The Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Livestock, and Fisheries has approved 269 applications for aid for green harvesting in vineyards intended for the production of grapes for winemaking corresponding to the fiscal year 2026.
In total, the area covered by these subsidies amounts to 948.73 hectares, with a forecast of withdrawal of 39,794.52 hectoliters of wine and a total amount of aid reaching 769,261.97 euros.
According to the Generalitat in a statement, payments will be made before October 15, charged to the financial year of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEAGA) for 2026.
These aids are part of the support measures for the sector promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture within the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy, financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The regional administration has emphasized that green harvesting aims to prevent a market crisis and restore the balance between supply and demand in the wine market. This practice consists of the destruction or total elimination of grape clusters from vineyards intended for the production of grapes for winemaking while they are still immature, so that the yield of the plot is reduced to zero.
The Generalitat has reminded that, in addition to the instability that the sector has been experiencing in recent campaigns, geopolitical factors and new military conflicts have increased the cost of fuels, energy, and raw materials, as well as raised the uncertainty linked to the EU-Mercosur agreement and to the tariffs of the United States, especially in the case of red wines.