EEUU, México, Suiza, China y Reino Unido concentrate more than 70% of Castilla y León wine promotion in third countries outside the EU through the Vitivinicultural Sectorial Intervention, with an investment of 18.4 million, 25% more than five years ago.
May 14, 2025
Castilla y León |
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development, María González Corral, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Carlos Fernández Carriedo, held a meeting today with representatives of the 16 Designations of Origin of Castilla y León to address the wine market situation in light of the threat from the US to impose tariffs on European agri-food products.
The meeting is part of the actions approved by the Junta of Castilla y León to address this new scenario, which has led to the approval of an initial plan worth 16.5 million and the holding of a high-level meeting between the President of the Junta, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, and representatives of productive sectors, Social Dialogue agents, Professional Agricultural Organizations (OPAs), and political parties, among others.
The analysis of exports reveals how the wine sector has increased its foreign sales by 38.15% in the period 2020-2024, with a value that reached 232.6 million euros last year, 2.2% more than the previous year.
Ongoing Actions
Among the main measures promoted by the regional government to favor the internationalization of the wine sector in Castilla y León are the specific actions of the V Internationalization Plan of the Institute for Business Competitiveness of Castilla y León (ICECYL), as well as the Agri-Food Industry Plan 2024-2028, the Financial Instrument, and the Vitivinicultural Sectorial Intervention (ISV), managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development.
Through this V Internationalization Plan, the Junta has increased by 130% the expenditure on international promotion of companies and products in the region, which has risen from 2.66 million in 2022 to 6.14 million in 2024. This investment has been aimed at boosting the presence of companies in international fairs, promotional activities, subsidies for business internationalization, the external network, and the training of specific human resources for export.
More International Promotion
Furthermore, within the ISV funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEAGA), the promotion measure in third-country markets was resolved earlier this year with an investment by the sector of 18.4 million (and public support of 9.2 million) to carry out 107 projects this year including commercial missions, promotions at the point of sale, or advertising campaigns. This investment represents a 25% increase over five years ago, with the majority (70%) concentrated in the US, Mexico, Switzerland, China, and the UK.
The ISV includes other measures of interest to the wine sector that, while not specific to exports, also contribute to improving its competitiveness, such as the investment in wineries, with 69 approved applications in the last call with a grant of 29.1 million.
Similarly, companies in the sector can benefit from the Financial Instrument, a measure that Castilla y León has pioneered and which, in the current Strategic Plan of the CAP 2023-2027, contemplates around 200 million in guaranteed financing through loans for both investments and working capital, which can be requested at any time as it is an open call.
Within the Agri-Food Industry Plan 2024-2028, the ministers have explained the upcoming call for a novel aid, whose guidelines have already been published, to improve competitiveness and boost exports of the agri-food sector by supporting companies to cover insurance and certification costs. The aid, of a direct nature and under the minimis regime, establishes a subsidy percentage of 70% on accepted and duly justified expenses, with a maximum amount of 105,000 euros per applicant company.
Record of Exports in 2024
Last year, Castilla y León led the growth of exports in Spain and set a historical record of international sales with 21.212 billion euros, representing an increase of 14.7% compared to the previous year and 48% over the last five years.
Within the region’s exports, the food sector stands out, which recorded a record of 3.485 billion euros in exports in 2024, 3% more than the previous year and 42% more than at the end of 2020.