CONCLUSION

In summary, Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., Schieffelin & Co., Brown-Forman Corporation, Heublein Inc., and Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc., urge the Subcommittee not to report this measure favorably to the Committee on Ways & Means, and we urge that this bill, which would contradict every Executive Agreement, treaty and trade law of the United States of the last 50 years, be rejected.

1 Per capita consumption data are not available for a few countries which are believed to have between 1 and 3 gallons consumption per person.

Sources: Economic Research Department, Wine Institute; International Wine Office, Paris: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and Bureau of the Census.

Wines & Vines: 40th Annual Statistical Survey, at 58.

SOURCE: 1982 Wine Industry Statistical Report, California Wine

Institute, at 13.

1 Bank of America, California Wine Report, December 1983, at 8. Source: Wines & Vines, 40th Annual Statistical Survey, at 47.

Exhibit D

TABLE 1.-UTILIZED GRAPE PRODUCTION, COMMERCIAL CRUSH OF FRESH GRAPES AND GROWER RETURNS FOR GRAPES IN CALIFORNIA, BY VARIETAL TYPES 1978 THROUGH 1982

a Total production was 4,017,000 tons. 248,000 tons of raisin variety grapes were lost in-field.

• Total production was 6,138,000 tons. Production losses were: wine varieties, 250,000 tons; table varieties, 20,000 tons; and raisin varieties, 510,000 tons.

Sources: Prepared by Economic Research Department, Wine Institute, from reports of California Crop and Livestock Reporting Service and Crop Reporting Board, US Department of Agriculture.

1982 Wine Industry Statistical Report, California Wine Institute, at 11.

Exhibit E

The short 1983 grape crop will result in improved prices for grapes and wine. Stiff import competition and the acreage potential to produce surplus wine in California, however, will keep some downward pressure on prices. Grapevines will continue to

be planted, nonetheless. Premium varieties, especially whites, which currently command high prices, will expand in acreage. In addition, the spread between prices for highly sought-after varieties over less marketable grapes will widen, encouraging farmers to graft vines over to the highly sought varieties.

Bank of America: California Wine Report, at 1.

The productive potential of California's vineyards came into focus by the crops produced in 1978, 1980, and 1982. The first broke the 4-million ton barrier, the second exceeded 5 million, and the third almost reached 6 million tons. The substantial increase in bearing vines since the early 1970s, from 439,900 acres in 1972 to 619,976 acres in 1982, is the main reason. However, the continuing long-term rising trend in yields per acre also was significant. The prospect is for both trends to continue, and almost certainly to assure a crop of over 6 million tons before the end of the eighties, probably by a considerable margin.

There was 118,568 non-bearing acres in California in 1982, which when added to existing bearing vines projects to a bearing acreage of at least 700,000 acres by 1985. Such an acreage would require a yield of only 8.57 tons per acre (one ton less than 1982's record 9.6 tons) to produce a six-million-ton grape crop.

Wines & Vines: 40th Annual Statistical Survey, at 48.

The major factor, external to the wine industy, that strongly affects trade levels is the strength of the dollar relative to foreign currencies. In 1979, when the dollar was weak, exports grew almost 120 percent, while imports declined 2 percent. In 1982, when the dollar was strong, imports grew 6 percent while exports dropped 11 percent. The dollar has remained at record levels in 1983 relative the French franc and Italian lira keeping imports price low.

Source: Bank of America, Cal. Wine Report, at 12.