traveler
May 29th, 2006, 04:44 PM
Port wine concerns about a fall from favour
Paul Symington, chairman of privately-held port shippers, the Symington Group, says "there are signs of a decline and concerns that Port wine is falling from favour" in our main markets. Sales of sherry he noted, declined from 14 to 6 million boxes over two decades. Port wine sales improved from 6 million to 10 million boxes over the same period but the beverages sector is "fragile and volatile". He said if government chose to overlook the latent crisis in the Douro Valley (the port wine region) and "close its eyes to reality", the area could face serious social crisis. He said the region was paying the price for “uncontrolled planting of new vines in the 80s and 90s. He called for tough measures. There should be a consolidation in the valley, through state incentives, to secure viable-sized production units and ensure equilibrium between land planted under vine and future likely demand for port. He said port wine shippers traded inefficiently in key markets (France, the Netherlands and Belgium account for 60% of sales) where port is regarded as an aperitif and marketing is price driven. Only 6% of all port wine shipped to France and the Netherlands are special added-value brands. On the other hand two-thirds of all sales in Canada and the US were Superior categories. In the UK the figure is 40%.
Low cost could boost revenues by €492 m
EasyJet – the low-cost operator - plans to fly 173,000 passengers to Lisbon and 615,000 to Faro by end 2006 according to Cristina Barnabé, EasyJet marketing manager for Portugal and Spain. The company has unveiled two new low-cost routes from Geneva and Basel to Lisbon. EasyJet says in the next five years it will open 12 new routes to Portugal covering the company’s six major European operational bases. According to Bernardo Trinidade, secretary of state for Tourism, these new routes could boost domestic tourism revenue over the next five years by some €492 million. Carlos Ornelas Monteiro deputy-chairman of the Lisbon Tourism Authority said the capital had signed a partnership agreement with EasyJet to invest €558,000 in promoting the capital as a tourism destination. Francisco Severino, director of Lisbon Airport said the facility had capacity to handle increased traffic and said current expansion work – due to be completed by 2009 – would provide capacity to handle 40 flights/hour at peak periods compared to the current 34 flights/hour .
Biotech Portugal aims to boost capacity
New biotechnology could be a path for international specialisation in Portugal if existing critical mass was restructured by district or region and joined up with Portugal's economic diplomacy efforts to secure rapid penetration of emerging new opportunities in Brazil and Mozambique. Brazil offering a highly-developed, fast-growing biotechnology sector, is of particular interest says the "Biotech Portugal 2005" report produced by INTELI. INTELI is a policy and intelligence centre involved in strategic studies in motor vehicle, aeronautics and other sectors. Among market opportunities is bio-combustion – ethanol as an alternative to petrol – and bio-diesel (replacing diesel) in Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil (distilled from sugar cane) and Mozambique (soya used to produce bio diesel).
Business Briefs:
Simoldes Group world leaders in precision plastic moulding for the motor industry, says 90% of its turnover now comes from exports, and has done so for more than a decade. Its anticipated turnover for year-end will be some €625 million of which more than €500 million from businesses in Poland, Romania, Brazil and Spain. Simoldes Group cross-border expansion has followed the opening of motor vehicle plants to which it is an accredited supplier, in various parts of the world usually where labour is cheap and location strategic................ :cheers: Isso e boas noticias para Portugal :cheers:
Paul Symington, chairman of privately-held port shippers, the Symington Group, says "there are signs of a decline and concerns that Port wine is falling from favour" in our main markets. Sales of sherry he noted, declined from 14 to 6 million boxes over two decades. Port wine sales improved from 6 million to 10 million boxes over the same period but the beverages sector is "fragile and volatile". He said if government chose to overlook the latent crisis in the Douro Valley (the port wine region) and "close its eyes to reality", the area could face serious social crisis. He said the region was paying the price for “uncontrolled planting of new vines in the 80s and 90s. He called for tough measures. There should be a consolidation in the valley, through state incentives, to secure viable-sized production units and ensure equilibrium between land planted under vine and future likely demand for port. He said port wine shippers traded inefficiently in key markets (France, the Netherlands and Belgium account for 60% of sales) where port is regarded as an aperitif and marketing is price driven. Only 6% of all port wine shipped to France and the Netherlands are special added-value brands. On the other hand two-thirds of all sales in Canada and the US were Superior categories. In the UK the figure is 40%.
Low cost could boost revenues by €492 m
EasyJet – the low-cost operator - plans to fly 173,000 passengers to Lisbon and 615,000 to Faro by end 2006 according to Cristina Barnabé, EasyJet marketing manager for Portugal and Spain. The company has unveiled two new low-cost routes from Geneva and Basel to Lisbon. EasyJet says in the next five years it will open 12 new routes to Portugal covering the company’s six major European operational bases. According to Bernardo Trinidade, secretary of state for Tourism, these new routes could boost domestic tourism revenue over the next five years by some €492 million. Carlos Ornelas Monteiro deputy-chairman of the Lisbon Tourism Authority said the capital had signed a partnership agreement with EasyJet to invest €558,000 in promoting the capital as a tourism destination. Francisco Severino, director of Lisbon Airport said the facility had capacity to handle increased traffic and said current expansion work – due to be completed by 2009 – would provide capacity to handle 40 flights/hour at peak periods compared to the current 34 flights/hour .
Biotech Portugal aims to boost capacity
New biotechnology could be a path for international specialisation in Portugal if existing critical mass was restructured by district or region and joined up with Portugal's economic diplomacy efforts to secure rapid penetration of emerging new opportunities in Brazil and Mozambique. Brazil offering a highly-developed, fast-growing biotechnology sector, is of particular interest says the "Biotech Portugal 2005" report produced by INTELI. INTELI is a policy and intelligence centre involved in strategic studies in motor vehicle, aeronautics and other sectors. Among market opportunities is bio-combustion – ethanol as an alternative to petrol – and bio-diesel (replacing diesel) in Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil (distilled from sugar cane) and Mozambique (soya used to produce bio diesel).
Business Briefs:
Simoldes Group world leaders in precision plastic moulding for the motor industry, says 90% of its turnover now comes from exports, and has done so for more than a decade. Its anticipated turnover for year-end will be some €625 million of which more than €500 million from businesses in Poland, Romania, Brazil and Spain. Simoldes Group cross-border expansion has followed the opening of motor vehicle plants to which it is an accredited supplier, in various parts of the world usually where labour is cheap and location strategic................ :cheers: Isso e boas noticias para Portugal :cheers: