Spain: The extension of the Russian veto shakes the Spanish fruit farms
June 25, 2015
At the end of June it became the one-year extension to the Russian veto perishable foods from the European Union. Then, Coordinator of Organizations of Farmers and Ranchers (COAG) has asked the Ministry of Agriculture for immediately demand the EU for maintaining Community regulation of compensatory measures (the application ended on 30 June) and commissioning up a specific supplementary budget to mitigate the impact of the veto in the income of growers.
And according to Miguel Blanco, general secretary of COAG (Coordinator of Organizations of Farmers and Ranchers), Spanish farmers can not afford another year the bill of a geopolitical crisis. “It is unfair and unacceptable. The announcement of the extension makes the ropes more than 45,000 fruit farms in our country. ”
In this regard, since COAG has moved the need by the Community authorities to prioritize green harvesting and non-harvesting, compensation increase product recall bound for NGOs, welfare centers, animal feed or compost, aid for processing into juice and expand the list of products eligible for these measures to stone fruits (nectarines, peaches and Paraguayan) and other relevant products in the previous support program they were left out.
“In just two weeks, stone fruits reach the peak season. The uncertainty is causing the collapse of the Paraguayan prices below costs, and other products, if the melon and watermelon, prices have been below breakeven (0.18 € / kg, while the average production costs stand at € 0.20 / kg). We face the summer with great concern, since the price crisis not only affect the fruit were exported to Russia, but may spatter, by domino effect, the entire horticultural sector as a whole, “said White.
It is also necessary that farmers can benefit from these measures individually without belonging to a producer organization (PO). In addition, avoid speculation in the food value chain, both within the State and EU level, so that prices in destination quickly adapt to the situation of prices in origin and, on the other hand, unjustified products not concerned falls are controlled. Therefore, from COAG it has asked the CIA and Food Control (AICA) that extreme vigilance and increased controls to detect abusive business practices by large retail chains.
A year ago
We recall that the Russian embargo August last year won burst fully into the campaign of stone fruit export. During that period, the prices originally tumbled as much as 75% and producers of peaches, nectarines and plums, mainly in Aragon, Catalonia and Extremadura, and faced heavy losses. It is estimated that 20-30% of production could not be sent to destination. Unfortunately, the damage did not stay there. Other productions as pome fruit (especially apples), some vegetables and citrus fruits have been affected by the veto and profitability for farmers has been highly impaired.
Source: COAG
