The Indian wine industry is coming of age. The country was recently invited by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) to be part of the worldwide process to decide on international labeling norms and standardising codex specifications for the industry globally. Yatin Patil, president, All-India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA), who is back in India after attending the meet in Paris, said several discussions are now taking place for consolidating a set of norms for processing aids and additives in wines as well as understanding labelling norms. He was nominated by the Ministry of Food Processing to represent Indian interests and perspectives at the meet.

OIV is a group of government bodies and the membership is given only to the government if members decide to elect the country as a member. OIV currently has 46 members with Armenia being the latest addition. The member states represent 85% of wine production in the world. In India, FSSAI is following codex specifications. However, OIV is an observer in that organisation and this year OIV is likely to be appointed in the codex committee for additives. While codex standards are regarding food safety, OIV standards are benchmarks for correcting the faults in wine and improving the quality of wines.

According to Patil, OIV director general Jean- Marie Aurand recently visited India when the issue of India’s membership to the OIV was discussed and the Indian membership has been renewed. India is the fifth-largest producer of eating grapes and resins. For exports it is very important to be aware of the international standards, which OIV helps establish, the DG had said.

India joined the OIV in July 2012 and became the 44th member of the organization. The OIV is an inter-governmental organization of a scientific and technical nature of recognized competence for its works concerning vines, wine, wine-based beverages, table grapes, raisins and other vine-based products and is based out of Paris.
India continues to be a member of OIV through the board and the ministry of food processing industries as the membership is for governments only Although India’s production and consumption is still low, consumption is increasing fast and in 10 years India is expected to be a big player in the wine sector. At present, almost two of every five bottles consumed in the world are imported (over 40%). Ten years ago it used to be 25%. The increasing international trade has made the international wine standards very important and India could derive a lot of benefits by being actively involved in the working and deliberations.

Earlier, India was also attempting to join the WWTG (World Wide Trade Group) of Washington DC, informal grouping of industry representatives from wine-producing countries. India had participated as an observer in an important meeting of WWTG in Washington around three years ago. While the OIV membership helped India get access to the state-of-the-art scientific knowledge about vines, wines and grapes, WWTG members that include Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the US can help India in trade.

Patil said that the 40th World Congress of Vine and Wine and the 15th General Assembly of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from May 29 to June 2, 2017 and India is expected to attend this meet. There are around 110 wineries in India (including 72 in Maharashtra) with the industry size being pegged at around `2,000 crore.

Read More at source: Financial Express