The National Institute of Viticulture (INV) announced the harvest forecast for this harvest.
A production estimated at 17 million quintals of grapes,
24% more than in 2023.
The data is encouraging because it indicates that it is a healthier harvest, less affected than last year, when the vine crop suffered late frosts.
However, there is
concern
in the wine sector because, a week before the bulk of the harvest begins,
the problem of labor shortage arises again.
Different producer entities and cooperatives have warned that there is a lack of harvesters.
And the main reason is that the workers: "
do not want to be registered in the temporary harvest for fear of losing their
job plans or family subsidies," say different representatives.
Mauro Sosa, president of the Center of Viñateros and Bodegueros del Este, explained that the lack of harvesters is a problem for
all regional economies
.
"On the one hand, because that swallow worker (he traveled from the north to the central and southern areas) has been staying in his province and
the majority accessed a national, provincial or municipal subsidy or plan
," he says.
And as described by the vintners and winemakers of the Eastern zone (which represents more than 50% of the grape production in Mendoza) the workers do not want to register for fear of losing the plan, they say that they cancel their Alimentar card, the Allocation Universal by Child (AUH) to them
or they are taken from their relatives
."
Although there is the extension of decree 514/2021, which guarantees the promotion of formal employment and the expansion of social security benefits, including the Alimentar card, for temporary workers and their families,
in some cases they have lost the benefit .
The national government has clarified that
temporary rural workers can have registered employment without losing social assistance
.
But, as Sosa explains, the subsidy can be dropped for different reasons: "The system sees that there is a member of the family group registered (with retirement contributions and social work) and
removes the subsidy from the rest of the members
of the same group. cohabitant".
To which is added a measure implemented last year by the government of Alberto Fernández, which generated
incompatibility between formal employment and social assistance.
On October 2, 2023, decree 493/2023, which established a new IFE as a reinforcement for informal workers,
left temporary workers out of the subsidy.
Fabián Ruggeri, president of the Association of Acovi Wine Cooperatives, said that the most affected productive areas are Maipú, Luján and Valle de Uco.
“When you ask the harvesters for the documents to be registered, they do not give them to you because they argue that when they change categories they have problems with the assignments, because they go to the category of registered employees.
And although the authorities say that there is no problem,
from the time they are dismissed as workers until they can collect plans again, a while passes
,” Ruggeri explained.
The calculation of the wine-growing entities consulted is that of the 17 million quintals of grapes, about 4 million are raised by mechanical harvesting.
For the remaining 13 million, more than 18 thousand harvesters are needed.
"
Half of the demand for vineyard workers is local labor
and the rest is covered with the arrival of workers from Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy and Santiago de Estero, and temporary hires," says Sosa.
The leader argues that it is becoming more and more difficult for harvesters to arrive from other provinces, it is no longer attractive to them.
The daily payment is around $300, for a 20 kilo bin of grapes.
"Per day a person makes about 60 bins, and
charges 18 thousand pesos per day
, which takes
5 or 6 hours of work
," says the president of the Center of winemakers and winegrowers of the Eastern Zone of Mendoza.
More health of the vineyard
According to the INV, grape production has increased by an average of 24% this year throughout the country, with a total of 17,986,000 quintals;
up from 14,553,101 last year.
"In all the provinces where the estimate was made, very good health is observed in the vineyards."
From the study carried out, it is concluded that production is higher compared to the previous season's harvest.
The first report, with a closing date of February 14, 2024, covers the results obtained in the provinces of San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca, Salta, Mendoza and the rest of the country with vineyards in production.
The margin of error for the projection is plus or minus 5%.
Last year, 9,347,927 quintals of grapes were harvested in the province of Mendoza.
It is estimated that in the current harvest some 11,973,000 quintals will be harvested, 28% more.
NE