Grape growers breathe a sigh of relief after it was announced that the large cava firms will increase the prices they will pay for the grapes this coming harvest. It puts an end, for now, to the trend of miserable prices paid in recent years, which were similar to those paid in the 80s of the last century. You have to go back to 2018 to find better prices than in 2022. Two out of every three kilos of grapes harvested in Catalonia end up in the DO Cava.
All this while the Generalitat has presented a study, which certifies that the average cost of production of a kilo of xarel lo and macabeo stands at 0.40 euros this year, and 0.46 for the parellada variety. These three native white varieties are the great base of the cavas. According to the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, it is expected that the publication of these references “allows all parties to reflect and pay the producer a price that allows the sustainability of a system with better professionals, better grapes, better price , a well-cared territory, a better image and more satisfied consumers”.
Freixenet, the main buyer, will pay 10 cents more than last year for a kilo of conventional grapes, 33% more. It has more than 600 direct suppliers and buys the volume equivalent to what is grown on more than 10,000 hectares. This year, they will pay from 0.40 euros per kilo for Guarda cava grapes, which represent 87% of the cava market. For the grapes destined for Cava de Guarda Superior (the Reserva or Gran Reserva), it will pay 0.51 euros per kilo with contracts of up to five years. The vice president and CEO of the Freixenet Group, Pere Ferrer, states that they want to contribute to the economic sustainability of the wine sector in the region.
Codorníu explained that 100% of what they will buy this vintage "is subject to multi-year contracts for organic grapes, at a minimum price of 0.44 euros." In addition, they increase the price of the grapes destined for the Cavas de Guarda Superior ecological by 15% (they go from 0.44 to 0.51 cents).
Josep Marrugat, from Unió de Pagesos, and Jaume Domènech, from Joves Agricultors i Ramaders de Catalunya, celebrate the rise, although they point out that "it will surely be insufficient due to the cost increases we are suffering".
