AVA-ASAJA denounces that aid for Russian veto do not reach 40% of production costs
The Valencian Farmers Association (AVA-ASAJA) has reported that aid to minimize market disruptions resulting from the Russian veto on agricultural and food production in the European Union, do not cover, in most cases, 40% of production costs, according to a study by the technical services of this organization
In the opinion of this organization, such aid, which come into force on July 1st, are clearly insufficient to compensate the losses which will continue to suffer, for the third consecutive year, farmers and ranchers “because of a conflict of roots totally unrelated to the agricultural sector”.
According to the report by AVA-ASAJA, the maximum amounts for market withdrawal, green harvesting or non-harvesting waiver limited to 0.26 € / kg in peach, 0.22 € / kg in clementine, 0.21 € / kg in orange or 0.21 € / kg in khaki, among other fruits and vegetables. If we consider the cost of collection and the fact that the aid is reduced by half for all farmers who are not integrated into a producer organization, which are around 50% of the agricultural community of the Comunitat Valenciana, economic balance that finally receives the farmer throws losses.
In addition, AVA-ASAJA regrets the arbitrariness of Brussels which discriminates of these subsidies products very sensitive and punished as Granada, melon, watermelon, eggplant or lettuce.
The president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, has urged the European Commission to resolve through diplomatic channels this disagreement that is proving so detrimental to agriculture in Valencia, one of the most dunks to markets and export. “Brussels bureaucrats should serve more the interests of European farmers and give them priority over geopolitical strategies that no citizens understand,” he has insisted. Aguado has indicated that agricultural activity depends on the price farmers get for their products, “so we need to recover the Russian market (the third after Europe and the United States before the veto) that we worked so hard to win and now have replaced other third countries”.
Source: AVA-ASAJA
