A delegation of Members of Parliament representing farmers and wine producers, led by MP, Supriya Sule met Union Minister of Home and Cooperation, Amit Shah and also Union Minister of Commerce and Industries, Piyush Goyal to discuss issues related to the farming community and wine growers.

The delegation led by MP Supriya Sule comprised Members of Parliament, Dharyasheel Mohite, Bajrang Sonawane, Nitin Patil, Bhaskar Bhagare, Balyamama Mhatre, and Hemant Sawara; the Vice President of Sula Vineyards, Sanjeev Paithankar, and the President of the- All India Wine Producers Association (AIWPA), Jagdish Holkar.

The meetings in Parliament House on August 19 brought to the notice of Amit Shah the issue of agriculture finance and how farmers were impacted by CIBIL ratings due to delayed loan repayments. Lending institutions, they pointed out, were not considerate to the farmers who due to vagaries of nature have not been able to repay interest or loans on time.

In the meeting with the Commerce Minister, the delegation discussed the tariff on wine under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) wherein the tariff has been reduced from 150% to 75% on wines (more than US$15 per bottle CIF), to come down to 25% after 10 years. For wines above US$5 and less than US$15, the rates are 100% and after 10 years 50%.