S.L. 447.3 Art. 3Characteristics of producer organizations.

For the purposes of these regulations a producer organisation is any entity having a separate and distinct legal personality from that of its members which satisfies the following conditions:

(a) it is constituted by producers of products covered by Council Regulation (EC) 1493 of 1999 and subsequent modifications;

(b) it is formed on the initiative of producers;

(c) it pursues a specific aim, which may in particular relate to one or more of the following:

(i) adapting production jointly to the requirements of the market and improving the product;

(ii) promoting concentration of supply and the placing on the market of the products produced by its members;

(iii) promoting the rationalisation and improvement

*These Regulations have been transposed to Cap 639, see S.L. 639.08. - See Act XXXIII of 2023. of production and processing;

(iv) reducing production costs and market management costs and stabilizing producer prices;

(v) promoting and providing technical assistance for the use of environmentally respectful cultivation practices and production techniques;

(vi) promoting initiatives for the management of by-products of wine making and the management of waste in particular to protect the quality of water, soil and landscape and preserving or encouraging biodiversity;

(vii) carrying out research into sustainable production methods and market developments;

(d) it applies rules of association which shall be in conformity with regulation 5 and which require its members, in particular, to:

(i) apply the rules adopted by the producer organisation relating to production reporting, production, marketing and protection of the environment;

(ii) provide the information requested by the producer organisation for statistical purposes, in particular on growing areas and market evolution;

(iii) pay penalties for infringement of obligations under the rules of association;

(e) it has lodged an application for recognition as a producer organisation under these regulations and the application contains the following items:

(i) evidence that the entity meets the requirements laid down in paragraphs (a) to (d);

(ii) evidence that it has a minimum of fifty members;

(iii) evidence that it covers a minimum volume of marketable production in the area where the organisation operates and which shall not be less than 200 tonnes of wine grapes;

(iv) evidence that it can carry out its activities properly, both over time and in terms of effectiveness and concentration of supply;

(v) evidence that it effectively enables its members to obtain technical assistance in using environmentally sound cultivation practices.