|
 Jean - Marie Aurand, who took over the office from Federico Castellucci two years ago, was on his first official visit that included Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Nashik and included a visit to the Grape Institute in Pune as well as Sula and perhaps some other wineries, as arranged by the Ministry of External Affairs which had been earlier approached by the Paris-based office of OIV.
‘The people I have met so far have been very positive and good listeners,’ he told me after he had had the meetings with FSSAI, trade ministry, agriculture ministry. ‘They were very courteous and receptive. I hope they understood that it is very important to be an active member of the OIV which can be very helpful in setting the benchmark for international standards. India is the 5th largest producer of eating grapes and resins. For exports it is very important to be aware of the international standards ,which OIV helps to establish.’
Aurand added that India’s production and consumption is still low but the consumption is increasing fast and I believe in 10 years time India would be a big player in the wine sector. ‘My message to the agencies I met was that India should be more involved with OIV experts.’ He was of course referring to the two week brain session held at the Paris Headquarters of OIV where the viticulture and oenology specialists meet to discuss various issues. 'Mr. Adsule from the Grape Institute used to come earlier but after his retirement no one has come.’ It’s a pity that as of now no one has registered for the programme. The delegates for these annual working programmes may also be experts and from the wine or grape industry but must be sent through the government because all decisions taken at the Assembly are by people who are government representatives.’
OIV is a group of government bodies and the membership is given only to the government if the members decide to elect the country as a member. Indian Wine Academy was a catalyst in the process of admission which started when it carried an Article on why India should joint OIV in delWine. It currently has 46 members with Armenia being the latest member. The member states represent 85% of wine production in the world, says Aurand.
When I asked Aurand whether India continued to be the member and paid its dues, since the Indian Grape Processing Board had been suspended, he said, ‘ yes, we are aware of that unfortunate situation but there is no problem of payment -14,000 euro is a small change for a sovereign government. I don’t see any problems on that score but participation is what we are looking forward to.’
 The Director General was quite pleased with his meeting on the previous day with Mr. Bahuguna, Chairman of the FSSAI, seen as the scourge of the industry by food and wine industry due to confusion in the standards and specifications. ‘FSSAI is following Codex specifications which is fine. In fact OIV is an Observer in that organisation and this year we may be appointed in the Codex Committee for additives. But it should appreciate that Codex standards are regarding food safety. But our standards are benchmarks for correcting the faults in the wine and improving the quality of wines.’
Stressing the role of OIV, Aurand said that today 2 bottles out of every 5 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. He also stressed that India is where China was 10 years ago and not significant. Today the situation has changed significantly there.’
Getting late for his meeting with the Joint Secretary of Ministry of Food Processing and Industries (MOFPI) Mr. Parag Gupta, Aurand had to leave the breakfast meeting and we left further exchange of ideas for another time, perhaps in Paris.
For earlier related articles please visit
Feature : India Must Join OIV for Vine and Wine
OIV Merit International Award for Subhash Arora
OIV Feature: Spinning Wheel of Flavours in Wine
Subhash Arora Awarded Medal of Merit by OIV
Indian Scientist Appointed Coordinator in OIV
OIV Report: World Drinking More Imported Wines
Geisenheim Lady Professor to head OIV
Subhash Arora |