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Mexico: Agave producers warn of monopoly risks after PDO change

By  |  March 3, 2016

Thousands of of Mexico’s agave growers and distillers are set to meet with Economy Secretary, Mr. Ildefonso Guajardo, to express their concerns regarding possible negative effects resulting from a proposed change to Mexico’s Protected Denomination of Origin laws, which would re-name all agave-based spirits (such as Tequila and Mezcal) ‘Komil’.

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    David Padilla, leader of the Small Agave Producers Coalition, warned that the ultimate objective of the largest Tequila companies, who have largely backed the move, is to usurp the term in order to establish a stranglehold on all beverages made from the plant, which could spell the end for thousands of Mexican producers and hurt the country’s artisanal production.

    According to studies by the left-wing organization El Barzón, Mexico has over 30 varieties of Agave used to create mezcal, with over 15,000 registered producers of the fiery drink. The group has proposed an alternative to the proposed modification (which arguably aims to improving production quality and preventing counterfeiting), wit the creation of a scheme to integrate small-scale mezcal producers in order to improve the quality of their drinks, without the need to change the PDO.

    Fuente: SDP Noticias
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