Desenvolvimento e território: o caso do cluster do vinho do Porto

Abstract

This paper focus on the activity of a set of regional Port wine cluster related institutions whose production is based in Douro, in northern Portugal. This region is the oldest demarcated wine region and has a unique product as well as a singular landscape value; nevertheless, its socioeconomic indicators reveal the region’s total failure in retaining value added necessary for its take-off in terms of growth and of its development process. Bearing in mind recent Port wine  production and trade figures, we have built a SWOT analysis regarding this cluster. As a conclusion one can clearly see that this activity, regulated by and dependent on foreign markets, suffers from a leadership transfer to the centre of the cluster decision-making. It is also forced to a co-operation among the stakeholders as a means to achieve both a strategic position in an extremely competitive market and a re-equilibrium of the income distribution between the production and the trade sector.