"Spain: "Garlic sector needs to unite in order to set prices"

The garlic sector is not going through one of its best moments, as reflected in the extremely low prices of the past three campaigns.

At the moment, prices range between 1.20 and 1.50 Euro per kilo, depending on varieties and calibres, "and although the average price is slightly higher than in the summer, it still does not cover production costs, as at this stage of the campaign costs increase due to the product's weight loss caused dehydration," says Óscar Requena, of the Spanish company Allium Prodiber.

"The supply of garlic has increased in an unstructured manner for the past three years due to the good results of previous campaigns, which led producers to sporadically cultivate products such as garlic, onion or potato, in a situation of crisis and unemployment," he continues.

Moreover, Óscar Requena emphasises that "there's a lack of unity in the sector. Many growers try to liquidate their produce by selling at prices below costs, which ends up affecting the entire sector," he says.

"If not for these practices, garlic could have reached prices of up to 30 cents higher over the last three campaigns," he adds. "There should be more unity in the sector so that we, and not the European importers, could set the prices," affirms Requena.

With around 300 hectares of plantations distributed in Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia and Castile-Leon, Allium Prodiber supplies garlic of the Spring, White and Purple varieties under the OSVI brand throughout the year, both to the domestic and the export market.