The government has created a new credit line to support wine producers, worth 110 million euros and with interest subsidies, according to a ordinance published today in Diário da República.
© iStock
21/09/2026
by
Lusa
The “Treasury Line – Vineyard Sector II” is renewing the mechanism launched two years ago to support the treasury of economic operators who are dedicated to the processing of grape to wine, “ensureing the existence of the financial means necessary for payment to winegrowers, the production of the 2025 and 2026 campaigns and the settlement or renegotiation of debts to credit institutions”.
The objective is to contribute to “economic and social stability in the sector”, reads in the text of the diploma.
In September 2024, the government had launched a credit line with interest subsidies for this sector, with the aim of “to deal with the cash costs directly associated with the payment to wine grape suppliers in the 2023 marketing year, as well as with payments to be made in the 2024 marketing year”.
The executive justifies the renewal of this support with the fact that “the Portuguese wine sector continues to face significant constraints due to the slowdown in wine consumption in the national and international markets, a situation that has prolonged and conditioned the flow of production”.
“ The levels of stocks in storage structures are high, with imbalances persisting between available production and effective market demand”, he stresses.
According to the decree published today, the new credit line will “provide financial means for the payment of the grape purchased from associates and suppliers in the wine years 2025 and 2026 and for the restructuring of ongoing credits contracted under Ordinance No 221-A/2024/1 of 23 September”.
However, the amount for restructuring credits may not exceed 50% of the amount financed under the support line.
The overall amount of the “Treasury Line II” is EUR 110 million, and if the total amount of credit requested exceeds this limit, the value of each application will be reduced in proportion to the excess.
The individual amount of credit to be granted shall not exceed the outstanding value of the 2025 wine year plus the annual value of the buying-in of wine grapes, having as its reference the best of the three closed economic years, to meet the estimated costs of the purchase of grapes in the 2026 marketing year.
This individual amount of credit may add the amount necessary to settle or restructure the outstanding debt of the outstanding claims.
The aid to be granted falls within the European Commission’s ‘minimis’ scheme and therefore ‘cannot exceed EUR 300,000 per single undertaking in gross grant equivalent’ over a period of three years. If it exceeds, the individual amount of credit to be contracted shall be reduced.
Credit shall be granted in the form of a loan repayable by credit institutions or other legal entities that conclude a protocol with the Agricultural and Fisheries Finance Institute (IFAP), in which a maximum nominal interest rate is established.
In the case of a financial default by the borrower of his obligations regarding the repayment of the capital or the payment of interest, the public guarantee is excluded.
The decree published today also provides that loans are granted for a maximum period of three years from the date of conclusion of the contract and amortizable annually, in equity instalments of equal amount, with the first amortisation being expired no later than two years after the date of the contract.
The use of the loan shall be made within nine months of the date of conclusion of the contract and may take place up to three uses and the first shall coincide with the date of the contract.
The deadlines for submission of applications, analysis, decision and hiring are set by IFAP and disclosed on the respective portal.