Carolina Pimentel
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília – According to president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, if the Brazilian wine industry wants to be competitive worldwide it will have to learn that all its problems will not be solved by the government. Speaking at a lunch with grape and wine producers in the city of Flores da Cunha, Lula declared: "The responsibility is collective."

Lula went on to say that the government was willing to provide assistance to the sector through its Family Farm program (Pronaf) which offers credit with the objective of improving product quality and commercialization. Pronaf could help some 20,000 grape farmers and 650 wine industries.

Translation: Allen Bennett