The outcome of grapes and
wines in 1875 did not exceed an ordinary average,
and growers still complain loudly that the imposts
upon wines, reckoning from the grape to the vat, are
so heavy--amounting to about 35 or 40 per cent.--and
their imposition and collection so very arbitrary and
unequal, that many vineyards are being abandoned.
"The government, it is said, have under consideration
the anomalous state of the wine trade in Cyprus,
with a view to relieve and redress the many grievances
of which consumers complain, and in the meanwhile
the collection of the imposts is suspended. Should
the result prove to be the elaboration of a fair,
reasonable, and consistent scale of duties, the revival
of the wine trade may be reasonably looked forward
to, and under sound regulations and intelligent
fostering the trade would undoubtedly become a large
and profitable one to this island."
In 1876, the year following the promised reform,
Consul Pierides reports:--
"The quantity of all sorts of wine produced was
much below that of 1875. The principal shipments
were made to Trieste and Venice. The collection of
the imposts, which was for a short time suspended, has
recommenced, and the manner in which it is conducted
is still arbitrary and vexatious, while remonstrances
have hitherto been of no avail.
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