Commission Regulation (EC) No 442/2001 of 2 March 2001 opening crisis distillation as provided for in Article 30 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 for table wines in Portugal

Commission Regulation (EC) No 442/2001
of 2 March 2001
opening crisis distillation as provided for in Article 30 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 for table wines in Portugal
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine(1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2826/2000(2), and in particular Articles 30 and 33 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 provides for the possibility of opening crisis distillation in the event of exceptional market disturbance caused by major surpluses. Such measures may be limited to certain categories of wine and/or certain areas of production and may apply to quality wines psr at the request of the Member State.
(2) The Portuguese Government has requested that crisis distillation be triggered for table wines produced on its territory.
(3) Wine production in Portugal was 6,1 million hectolitres in 1997/98 and 3,8 million hectolitres in 1998/99. It stood at 7,8 million hectolitres in 1999/2000 and 5,6 million hectolitres in 2000/01.
(4) Stocks of table wine at the start of the marketing year were 3,614 million hectolitres in 1998 and 3,437 million hectolitres in 1999, falling to 3,026 million hectolitres in 2000. In 2001, they have risen sharply to 4,039 million hectolitres, an increase of around 33 %. This has had a negative impact on prices, which have fallen by around 11 % over the current wine year compared with the same period last year.
(5) Since the conditions laid down in Article 30(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 are satisfied, crisis distillation covering a maximum of 450000 hectolitres of table wine should be triggered. That volume should make it possible to reduce stocks of table wine to an acceptable level. The measure applies for a limited period with a view to maximum effectiveness. No ceiling should be set on the quantity that individual producers can have distilled because stocks may vary substantially from one producer to another and depend on sales to a greater extent than on the individual producer's annual output.
(6) The mechanism to be introduced is provided for in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms(3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2786/2000(4). As well as the Articles of this Regulation which refer to the distillation measures provided for in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, other provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 apply, in particular those concerning the delivery of alcohol to intervention agencies and the payment of an advance.
(7) The buying-in price to be paid by the distiller to the producer should provide a solution to the problems while allowing producers to take advantage of the possibility afforded by this measure. That price should not, however, be such that it adversely affects the application of distillation as provided for in Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.
(8) The product of crisis distillation must be raw alcohol or neutral alcohol for compulsory delivery to the intervention agency in order to avoid disturbing the market for potable alcohol, which is supplied largely by distillation under Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,