Wine industry boss reacts to Spring Statement
26th March 2025
“The UK wine sector needs support to grow in order to become the world’s next great wine region,” said the WineGB leader while commenting on the Spring Statement given by chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier today.
During today’s Spring Statement, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced, among others, that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has downgraded predicted growth for this year from 2% to 1%
Nicola Bates, CEO of WineGB, the trade association for Great British wine growers and producers, said that the association is disappointed in the halving of growth projections and what this means for consumer confidence.
She added: “Until we better understand the consequences of the Spending Review to our key departments, Defra, DBT and FCDO, we remain concerned about agriculture and agri-food beverages being omitted from the industrial strategy and potentially what this means for the Great British domestic wine sector.
“The UK wine sector needs support to grow in order to become the world’s next great wine region.
“There remains a requirement for financial support to take advantage of our position as the UK’s fastest-growing agricultural sector, bringing money and skilled jobs into the countryside.”
Ms Bates concluded: “We hope to see the refinancing of the Sustainable Farming Incentive and ensure that we retain, and ideally grow, the support our sector receives in terms of equipment, export, and R&D. We also need further investment in production infrastructure, tourism, and education. This continued absence in funding stalls our growth.”
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