OCM Wine promotion 2025/2026, “calling institutions to meet companies”

recently by the Ministry of Agriculture, is an important and concrete signal that the institutions and the Ministry of Agriculture are willing to meet with companies. Furthermore, they are willing to offer more flexibility and openness to the smallest companies, which is an important step towards transparency of procedures, through the digital platform on which projects will be presented to request co-financing to promote Italian wine throughout the world, and that is experiencing a very challenging period (and so is the entire sector in general). Business Strategies is a studio that works on the internationalization of companies. It has, followed the path of the OCM measure, for 20 years carrying out important projects for some of the most famous and leading Italian wine companies (all the organizations on the supply chain have confirmed the sentiment, as we reported yesterday, ed.).
“The real topic is that this is concrete proof the Ministry is trying to lend a hand to businesses”, Ballotta commented to WineNews. “Obviously, there is room for improvement, but we are moving towards greater flexibility and availability to producers and professionals who are trying to access contributions. It is a very important signal in a complex moment for the wine market. The entirely online procedure on the SIAN portal will definitely need to be evaluated and tested, as it represents not only streamlining bureaucracy, but it is also a fundamental step towards greater transparency of the process. This is essential, since we are talking about public funds. The issue of controls still needs to be addressed, however, at a systemic level (currently delegated to Agencontrol, the public agency for controls in agriculture, ed.). Controls put in place must be rigorous, and must be respected, though they also lend themselves to interpretations that can often create rigidity, and in many cases are based on aspects that are no longer in line with the times (which change quickly), or the needs and dynamics that companies face on the markets”.
As we reported yesterday, the call has introduced several innovations, as Business Strategies also pointed out. First of all, reducing the required stock minimums to participate in the call, which broadens the range of potential beneficiaries, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. “By lowering the minimum stock requirement to 750.000 liters of bottled wine (compared to the previous 1 million liters), the call opens to a greater number of companies. This means that even small and medium-sized businesses in the wine sector can access financing, thereby aim for global markets”, Business Strategies emphasized.
Another fundamental aspect is flexibility. One of the most waited for innovations is “the possibility of reallocating promotional activities among third Countries, based on savings or new strategic opportunities. It is a dynamic approach allowing campaigns to be adapted to market developments, guaranteeing more effective and targeted interventions”. In addition to the highlighted online procedure to submit projects, there is an important new element, the "official price list" of costs of actions on 5 key markets, such as the United States, China, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It replaces the obligation to submit three estimates for each action, which had created quite a number of obstacles recently. “The price list will be finalized in the future, updating and refining it further. This is an essential first step that at least provides foundations on which to work”, Ballotta added. The new OCM Promozione call therefore has forcefully relaunched a fundamental tool to support the Italian wine sector, which in 2024 has achieved 60% of its 8.1 billion euros in exports on the non-EU markets.