“We want a fair price for our work”: the winegrowers at the Millésime bio show evoke the anger of the farmers

The largest exhibition in the world, intended for organic viticulture, was inaugurated this Monday, January 29. – Y.PO.

Catherine Vincent and Marion Cornille, from Château La Croix Martelle in Minervois. – Y.PO.

At the show, buyers from all over the world come to meet the estates of Occitanie. – Y.PO.

Faced with important standards, winegrowers who have switched to organic are reacting to peasant anger. They defend less the problem of the excess of standards than that of the fair price. The salon was able to open normally despite threats of union action. 

At the Millésime Bio show which opened this Monday, December 29 and for three days at the Montpellier Exhibition Center, the agricultural crisis is inevitably widely commented on. Especially by these thousands of winegrowers who have switched to organic farming, faced with very demanding specifications: "But it’s normal, standards are imposed on everyone , it is necessary. Organic is a philosophy. Consumers know that it’s a little more expensive and, for the most part, they follow", assures Géraldine Peyraud-Combes winemaker at Mas des Brousses in Puéchabon (Hérault).

🟢 SudVinBio soutient le mouvement agricole et remercie la FDSEA 34, les Jeunes Agriculteurs Hérault, Agricultures et Territoires, La Coopération Agricole Occitanie ainsi que Vigneron Indépendant de préserver le salon Millésime BIO ✳️ pic.twitter.com/IS709jYl3V

— Millésime BIO (@MillesimeBio) January 29, 2024

"We are faced with too much paperwork, contests Catherine Vincent of Château La Croix Martelle, who passed organic studies in 1998 in the Minervois. We are already in the vineyard, in the cellar, we have to do sales…" And she assures that she cannot pass on the increases in the price of her wine: "People are faced with the ;inflation. And if I sell too much, the marketers will choose someone else, you have seen the number of winegrowers gathered here.

For fair standards

Overall, winegrowers only expect one thing from the standards: that they are fair. "If we continue to import products that do not meet the standards imposed on us, we are only transferring the problem to the rest of the world", wisely estimates Thierry Hasard, owner of the La Marfée estate in Murviel-lès-Montpellier.

Millésime bio : parti d'une feuille blanche, le Mas de l’Écriture a su garder son caractère en passant en bio
➡️ https://t.co/bcAXKKNLJihttps://t.co/bcAXKKNLJi

— Midi Libre Montpellier (@MLMontpellier) January 29, 2024

Because peasant common sense believes that the matter is less "a matter of standards than a problem of price. What producers want is to be paid at a price that allows them to live decently", notes Sabine Bonnot, president of the Planet-Score label also producer of cereals and fruits in the South-West.

Two strong measures expected

This is also what Jeanne Fabre, president of the Millésime Bio commission, said when inaugurating the show: "All farmers want to make a living from their work by selling at a fair price". "Living with dignity&quot ;, added Jérôme Despey, vice-president of the FNSEA who assured that the profession was going through "a difficult time". However, he was optimistic about obtaining a blank year on bank interest and a temporary withdrawal measure. Two announcements which should be confirmed by the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau expected in Hérault this Friday, February 2.

Jérôme Despey was also pleased that the show "vital for the economy of our region" does not bear the brunt of peasant anger and that he can behave normally.

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