Prodeca obtains 2.5 million euros of European funds to promote cava and Catalan DO wines in China and the USA

• Prodeca has received funding from the European Commission to carry out the project: "European quality wines: taste the difference (TTD.EU)".

• The project will be developed in a consortium with the Unione Italiana Vini Servizi Soc. cooperative and will co-finance actions to promote wine and cava over the next three years in the Chinese and American markets.

• The program is mainly aimed at commercial operators, professionals and prescribers, considered strategic groups for the dissemination of knowledge and European wine culture.

Barcelona, July 28, 2020.- Prodeca, the Promoter of Catalan foods, has obtained 2.5 million euros to carry out a project of the AGRIP program for the promotion of Catalan Designation of Origin wines and cava in the Chinese and American markets over the next 3 years. It is a promotional and informative program to publicize the wine of the participating regions with actions designed for each of the two markets. These actions include events with specialized press and sector agents, participation in professional sessions such as virtual and face-to-face B2Bs, fairs, missions, workshops, etc. with a clear desire to transmit the quality standards, the production methods and the uniqueness of our wines and cavas.

This is the first project of the AGRIP program for the promotion of agri-food products, approved by European regulation 1144/2014, which will be managed directly from Catalonia. Prodeca, in coordination with the Regulatory Councils of the different DOs, the Catalan Wine Association (AVC), the Cava Producers Association (AECAVA) and INCAVI, will soon start working on the different actions of the project for these two strategic markets for the sector: China and the United States. According to Ramon Sentmartí, managing director of Prodeca, "being able to have these resources to promote our wines and cavas in these two markets is very good news for the sector: they are two markets with very different characteristics, but both with a significant volume of wine and cavas consumption and with growth potential. With this project, our wines and cavas will gain presence and notoriety, both in the Asian and North American markets".

Pilar Just, president of DO Montsant, remarks that "we have everything to position ourselves in these markets as synonymous with quality, diversity, territory..., we lack strategic programs like this that help explain all the values of Catalan wines with DO".

Javier Pagés, president of the DO Cava, emphasizes that "from the DO Cava we are very interested and celebrate the approval of this project. The United States is the most important and priority market for our sector, and great potential opens up in terms of the Chinese market. These are two markets that are part of the backbone of our strategic plan".

China, a growing wine market

China, a market with a lot of future due to the fact that the popularity and consumption of wine is growing among its population. Historically, wine was considered mostly as a gift, although nowadays it has been incorporated into the habits of the Chinese consumer, who are increasingly interested in this product, a fact that has allowed them to gradually appreciate its value, its quality and increase its consumption. In this sense, the actions will be aimed at conveying to the consumer the values of quality, diversity, and the singularities of our wines and cavas, in a market as competitive as the Chinese one.

It should be noted that China is currently the fourth largest importer of wine in the world with an annual consumption of more than 1.25 billion liters and a growth perspective in value of 8.9% until 2023.
 

US market: three years to reverse the effects of Trump's tariffs

It has now been seven months since the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump's Government on some European wines came into force, with detrimental effects on Catalan companies in the sector.

The North American market is one of the main destinations for the export of wines and cavas from Catalonia and the wine trade alliance between the European Union and the United States has historically been the largest in the world. The increase in the prices of our wines at destination, due to the application of the new tariffs, makes it particularly important to boost their promotion; promotion that will also translate into support for American distributors who require, now in a special way, tools and elements focused on making our wines and cavas known, highlighting their virtues in this market with a high purchasing power.

The United States consumes more than 2.9 billion liters of wine annually and forecasts point to a cumulative growth of 5.5% in volume and 25% in value over the next three years.