The agrarian organization UPA-UCE Extremadura has detected an alleged consumer fraud with plums in various stores in Madrid. Plums from other countries are being sold as grown in Extremadura.
This practice, in addition to being a fraud on the consumer, can harm the reputation of Extremadura's entire sector, a statement warned.
"We work with other quality parameters that do not match those of the production from other countries. We cannot allow them to deceive the consumer in this way," pointed out UPA-UCE Extremadura general secretary, Ignacio Huertas.
Huertas suspects that large companies may be behind this practice, seeking to "lower prices at origin" with the threat of buying the product from third countries that sell it "at a much cheaper price."
UPA-UCE has expressed its concern about the rise of such practices that seek to get prices at origin to plunge.
"We are not going to stand idly by while a sector as relevant to Extremadura as plum cultivation is destroyed," insisted Huertas.
UPA-UCE has defended the need for a law on product labelling that prohibits these practices.
"There is a need for stricter sanctions to make sure there is more transparency in the labelling of our products, since this is something that is beneficial for both the producer and the consumer," stated Huertas.
UPA-UCE has proposed the creation of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) "Plum of Extremadura", given that it is a unique product, to boost sales and opportunities in new markets.
Extremadura accounts for most of the Spanish plum production, since it has 5,500 hectares devoted to this crop that yield an average of 92,000 tonnes per year.
Source: EFE