Paris (AFP)

Jean Castex is due to go to the wine-growing lands of the Cher on Wednesday morning to announce a strengthening of financial aid in favor of a sector hard hit by the coronavirus crisis and pending a gesture at harvest time.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie, must first visit an organic farm in Menetou-Salon, north-east of Bourges, before going to the Sancerre wine house, to meet local professionals. He must express himself there at midday.

While the government, at the time headed by Edouard Philippe, had granted in May a first envelope of 170 million euros to the sector, its representatives hope for an additional boost.

"Overall the agro-food industry has been less impacted than others by the Covid (...) but this hides significant differences according to the sectors", explains Matignon, stressing that viticulture, "dependent on catering" and subject to a resumption of "heterogeneous" tourist activity, is among the most affected.

At the same time, "there has also been a fairly strong contraction in trade," while France "exports between 30 and 40% of its production", points out Matignon.

In total, wine growers estimate that the health crisis has generated a shortfall of at least 1.5 billion euros due to the shutdown of bars, restaurants, festive gatherings and tourism.

And to the coronavirus crisis is added the effect of the American sanctions pronounced at the end of 2019 on wines of less than 14 degrees (excluding sparkling wines), in retaliation for a trade dispute between Airbus and Boeing.

"We can not leave an economic sector which brings so much to the French trade balance by the roadside," pleads Jerome Despey, secretary general of the FNSEA and winegrower in the Hérault.

According to him, the French wine industry needs to double the aid granted so far (European and national) to deal with the crisis.

- "Additional effort" -

"While the harvest is already starting in some regions, we have estimated the total needs of the sector at more than 350 million euros to finance the necessary distillations and the private storage of wines" he told the AFP.

However, the plan announced in May included 155 million aid for distillation and 15 million aid for the storage of surpluses.

The distillation system, authorized by Brussels and financed with European funds, subsidizes the transformation of unsold wines into alcohol which will be used in the manufacture of bioethanol, perfumes or hydroalcoholic gel.

The envelope released today makes it possible to transform around two million hectoliters. The winegrowers ask for enough to distill 3 to 3.5 million hectoliters to make room for the next harvest.

"We are working on an additional effort," Julien Denormandie said last week, before the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly.

Representatives of wine growers also urge the government to expand the number of companies eligible for social security contribution exemptions, allowing them to benefit from it from the moment they have lost at least 60% of their turnover during the period. confinement, against a threshold of 80% currently.

Another point in sight: the end on January 1, 2021 of the employer exemption system for casual workers, which benefits sectors with extensive labor needs, including fruits and vegetables and viticulture.

In addition, brewers, also strongly affected by the closure of cafes, hotels, restaurants and the elimination of concerts and summer festivals, are worried that they have "no news" of the 4.5 million euros of aid to their sector promised by the previous government.

And in the cider sector, where the profession is also hoping for a rapid aid plan, the needs are estimated at some 22 million euros.

"I dare to hope that if the Prime Minister goes to a wine region it is to give concrete answers", summarizes Mr. Despey.

© 2020 AFP