Portugal's Left Bloc led by Catarina Martins has recommended to the Socialist government that it introduces measures to help growers of the 'strawberry tree' whose fruit is used to produce the Algarve’s iconic tipple, medronho.
Left Bloc enthusiasts’ draft resolution recommends that the government approves ‘financial mechanisms and technical resources.’
The ‘financial mechanism’ called for is the reduction in the excise duty levied on medronho produced by hillside communities and the ‘technical resources’ comprise aid for farmers to develop plantations and boost production of the local firewater.
The Left Bloc recommends that the government complains to the European Union and gets the excise duty reduced on any spirits or liqueurs produced from Arbutus unedo, or ‘strawberry tree’.
In terms of social policy the Left Bloc has a point as most medronho producers live in family farms in areas of the Algarve that rapidly are becoming depopulated.
The Bloc says "the fight against depopulation can be done effectively, with an appreciation of family farming and by the promotion of commercial activity with typical products from each region."
In the case of the Algarve, medronho is one such product, which is emblematic of the region and holds a significant cultural, social and economic position.
The excise duty currently applicable to medronha in Portugal’s tax code is "highly detrimental to the development and growth" of products derived from arbutus production.
The Bloquistas point out that rums and liqueurs produced in Madeira and in the Açores enjoy a reduced tax rate to encourage their development which has been “indispensable to the survival of local activity in sectors linked to the production and marketing of these drinks."
