Today marked the end of Argentina's role as Chair of the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG), which led to positive results for the facilitation of international trade of wine.
During the year in which it acted as chair of the Group, Argentina organized an Annual Meeting in the City of Neuquén (November 2018) and an Intersessional Meeting in London (April 2019). Both meetings were attended by government and industry representatives from the nine member countries of the WWTG (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, the United States, Georgia, New Zealand, South Africa and Uruguay).
Officials of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, the Secretary for Agro-Industry, the National Institute of Viticulture, and provincial authorities, as well as representatives of the private sector, including Bodegas de Argentina and other business chambers, attended the meetings as well.
Argentina chaired the WWTG at a special time: the group's 20th anniversary. In the past two decades, the WWTG has become a global leader in issues related to wine trade, and it currently accounts for 30% of global exports, 35% of global production and 27% of global wine consumption.
Its role as chair of the Group was very significant for Argentina, as it allowed the country to foster its goal of facilitating wine exports and promoting viticulture and its contribution to the development of regional economies. Argentina, the fifth largest wine producer, the second largest must exporter and the tenth largest wine exporter to approximately 130 countries in the world, has shown its commitment to the WWTG's measures aimed at improving access to wine markets.
At the meetings chaired by Argentina, possible shared solutions to the sector's current and future challenges were considered, including the strategic review of the Group's objectives and the discussion of principles that facilitate wine exports. The meeting in London was attended by the largest number of observers ever since the beginning of the WWTG, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, India, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. This served as a way for the WWTG to strengthen ties with strategic markets, thus reaffirming its intent to expand membership.
The next WWTG meeting will be held in October 2019 in Chile, and it will be chaired by said country until May 2020.
