The Coordinator of Agricultural and Livestock Organizations, COAG Almería, warned about the generalized drop in vegetable prices, more specifically in long Dutch cucumbers. This trend comes in the 47th week of production, a key moment in the season, without any good or justified reason for the decrease in prices, which places them below production costs in the markets of Almería and the Coast of Granada.
"Some marketers are sending produce to their clients without a price (i.e. selling on the cheap), an action that sinks the price at origin and that is expressly forbidden in the Chain Law. COAG Almeria would like to draw attention to these price crises, as there is no solid justification for these fluctuations. This isn't due to weather issues, the demonstrations in France, or the treaties with third countries. There's just no coherent explanation for what's happening," stated Andrés Góngora, provincial secretary of COAG Almería points out.
"These are smokescreens to hide the real intentions of large-scale distribution. They are excuses, ruses to pay producers less and earn more, especially in the agreements reached with large distribution companies and supermarket chains. That's why we're asking the marketing sector in Almería and Granada to act responsibly, remain strong, and not succumb to these pressures and deceptions," Góngora stated. COAG Almeria "is staying in contact with different producers during these days and, if the situation doesn't change, it will decide at the beginning of next week what actions to implement, which could include dumping produce as protest in front of the stores of the parties responsible for this situation," Góngora stressed.
This morning, Hortyfruta activated the "yellow alert" for some key products, such as long Dutch cucumbers, warning of a worrying situation of "instability." Many farmers have contacted COAG Almeria warning that the fall in prices is reaching unsustainable levels, plummeting below production costs in a large number of cases. "We understand that the interprofessional sector is cautious. However, cautiousness isn't at odds with the agility required by these fluctuations, which are so damaging to agriculture, and we sometimes have to act without wasting time. We at COAG Almería want to make it clear that we farmers prefer to throw away part of our production at a given time if this action stops the fall in prices and reduces the period of crisis, as long as the whole sector does so," Góngora concluded.
For more information:
Andrés Góngora
COAG
+34 619 30 17 54
www.coagalmeria.com