Filenews 8 April 2021
New grant scheme with a total expenditure of €1.65 million for Cypriot wine-growing enterprises today announced the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in cooperation with the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment. The aim of the project is to encourage investment in wine-owning enterprises.
The Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, as responsible for the implementation of the Measure concerning investments in the winemaking sector, through the new sponsorship plan aims to improve the overall performance of wine-growing enterprises, adapt them to market requirements and increase their competitiveness.
The beneficiaries of the grant scheme, which is fully funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund under the National Support Programme for the Wine Sector, are both existing and new wineries. The aid intensity ranges from 15% to 40%, depending on the size of the company, but for those public aid agreements signed up to 15.10.2021 the percentage of the grant will reach 50% of the eligible costs. To date, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry has approved funding of more than €13.5 million under this measure. for the benefit of 40 wineries, including 11 new wineries.
The Director of the Industry and Technology Department of the Ministry, Christos Fotiadis, said that the new announcement of the project will help wine plants to develop and become more competitive, through the further technological upgrading of the production process, as well as the improvement and/or expansion of their buildings. Aid is important, he added, at a difficult time for wine companies due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic. "The aid granted so far under the Measure has made a decisive contribution", pointed out Mr Fotiadis, "to the improvement of Cypriot wine so that it stands more confidently next to the wines of countries with a long tradition in the sector".
The undertakings concerned may submit their applications from today, 8 April 2021, until 2 July 2021. The Project Applicants Information Manual has already been posted on the website of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, meci.gov.cy.
Next week there will be a workshop to inform the wine units about the Sponsorship Plan, as well as the Action Plan for the Promotion of Cyprus Wine. The event will also be attended by the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Natasha Pelidou.
