The harvest is in its final stage and what many pointed out as impossible happened, the kilogram of grapes for vinification was located above the $ 20 paid even in cash in the case of some wineries that foresee a significant shortage of wines in the coming months . This means a recovery in the key price to give a break to the vine growers who worked under bankruptcy for almost a five-year period and the result is seen in low harvest yields and abandoned vineyards.
At the close of our edition with data from week 17 of harvest, the INV reported about 1,563 million kilograms entered into the presses. Mendoza concentrating about 1,052 million kilograms, followed by San Juan with about 411 million kilograms and the rest distributed in 10 Argentine provinces or wine-growing poles.
Also in this Easter, the wine stocks on the first of March were known in Argentine wineries, marking a significant concentration in Mendoza, for a volume of 7,376,469 hectoliters, which means 86% of the stocks available in the country according to to the electronic book of wineries. In total, stocks in the country total 8,589,285 hectoliters and San Juan has 747,281 hectoliters in its tanks and pools. These values correspond only to wines in condition available in their generic and varietal categories.
In this context, the price of wine also recovered 192% in price, which had not happened since the 2017 campaign -200% that year- reaching a price of $ 35 in March of this year compared to $ 12 last year. This momentum is due to the increase in exports last year and the first quarter of this year and also to the recovery of consumption in the domestic market.
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ADVICE
Given these improvements, Green Supplement DIARIO DE CUYO consulted young professionals in the sector who advise the wine producer.
For Ernesto Olivera Más from the consulting firm Labranza and leader of the Federación de Viñateros who triggered: “Those who have sold their grapes for cash, it is important that the proceeds are used to quickly make short, medium and long-term investments.”
And he added: “From the purchase of fertilizers and post-harvest fertilization, key at this stage, to making fixed terms since, although they are not higher than inflation, at least they partially cushion the devaluation of the currency.”
“In turn, those who sold in installments must estimate the percentage of each installment to be allocated to working capital and which to savings or investments. It is important to extract costs since items such as labor increased by 40% and fuels 52% this year and that forces us to take costs “. And he added: “It is key to plan and budget what is necessary to face the pruning, fertilization and harvest of next year.
Finally, he pointed out: “those who elaborate in maquila, must be attentive to the behavior of prices and thus determine the best moment for the sale, considering their own need for liquidity compared to the best price achieved in the next year.”
For the accountant, producer and leader of the Pablo Martín Wine Table “in this year of price recovery, it is one more year to sell the grapes than to make the maquila, since good prices are being obtained for the bunches and as the saying goes , ‘Bird in hand is better than 100 flying’ “.
RISKS
For Martín, “the price of wine should not fall by logic. But it is difficult to make futurology and therefore I think it convenient to sell the grape and then make the necessary investments and forecasts for the next harvest in an inflationary context.”
“For those who prefer the maquila, it is an option for the medium term for those who are willing and can take risks. For this, the uncertainties of this special moment in the country also weigh, and therefore the maquiladora should wait to sell by the end of this year “, he indicated.
Finally he marked: “It has been possible to recover the prices of both the grape and the wine and with this I hope the producers can face a new year of work.”
IN NUMBERS
66 It is the percentage of the grapes entered into the country’s wineries located in Mendoza and 27% was dumped in San Juan.
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