Brasília, April 16, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The Sectorial Chamber for the Productive Chain of Wines, which met yesterday (15) in the Ministry of Agriculture, proposed the inclusion of quotas for wines imported from countries of the Mercosur. According to the president of the Chamber, this sector in Brazil is hurt by competition from imported and smuggled wines. According to him, 54% of the wine consumed in Brazil is imported.
Zaneti affirms that Argentina is the chief competitor. In recent years Argentina's production increased from 600 thousand liters to five million liters. "In Argentina's strategic planning, it is registered that they want to take over 50% of the Brazilian market. We cannot finance the Mercosur unilaterally," he contends.
On Brazil's borders with Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina, imports are limited to twelve bottles. "Without much effort you can discover 12 cases per car," Zaneti asserts.
He informs that he handed the Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues, the name of a firm that imported 50 thousand cases of contraband wine in a month.
Another proposal presented in the Sectorial Chamber was a reduction in the Industrial Products Tax (IPI). According to Zaneti, the hike in the IPI last June amounted to 400% on average and 700% for some types of wine. According to him, the losses incurred by the sector since June, 2003 come to US$ 23.9 million (R$ 70 million).
At the meeting, Senator Pedro Simon (PMDB/RS) presented a bill to alter the classification of wine from a beverage to a food. According to the Senator, this would reduce the taxes on wine to a third of what they are now. "And some types of wine could be exonerated from taxes," the Senator affirms.
Simon cites the example of Spain, where wine is considered a food. The Senator also proposes that Brazilian wine be adapted to the rules of the Mercosur. "The Mercosur has already identified itself with the European Common Market, and we are somewhat out of touch," he observes.
As a result, according to the Senator, Brazil would adopt the same parameters of classification, quality, production, circulation, and commercialization that prevail in the neighboring countries.
According to the Sectorial Chamber, Brazilians consume 1.8 liters of wine per capita annually. 300 million liters are produced each year. In Argentina per capita annual consumption comes to 40 liters, and in France, 60 liters.
Translator: David Silberstein
