The first authorized load to be sent to landfills this year will be 2.5 thousand tons in the Canary Islands, with 40% in La Palma. The school holidays and the influx of seasonal fruits are the reasons.
The Minister of Agriculture of the Canary Islands, Juan Ramon Hernandez, recently authorized the first deactivation of plantains in 2012, which will mean that on the island, more than 1000 tons of fruit will end up in landfills and a small part in social organizations.
This situation occurs every year when market prices fade, which is directly linked to the closure of schools and other eating places around the country, where an important amount of bananas of the Canary Islands are consumed. It is difficult to know exactly how long this situation will last, it could be three weeks, maybe four, but what is obvious is that the time necessary to protect prices will be prolonged.
Industry sources reported that currently the market can absorb about four thousand tons of fruit, while production in the Canary Islands is about 6.5 thousand, with 40% in La Palma. The authorization of the Minister of Agriculture, which responds to a request from Asprocan allows for 33% of what is produced to be sent to landfills, ie practically 2.500 tons are not intended to be sold.
Asprocan already asked in December 2011, in full winter season, to send an amount of plantains to landfills, but after a market study, the petition did not have the permission of the Minister of Agriculture. The funny thing was that prices recovered within two weeks without having to waste the fruit.
The waste of plantains seems to have no solution. For no farmer wants to see the fruit end up in a landfill, but all are aware that it is the only known solution to prevent prices from collapsing. The most logical alternative would be to regulate the production during the different seasons of the year, in order to avoid the summer gap. However, this planning is not easy, quite the contrary due to a diverse climate and the location of plantations.
Due to this difference in location, which makes fruit mature at different times, the lack demand will mainly affect production located in the north, the midlands and the highlands.
United Cooperatives of La Palma, Cupalma, with a turnover close to EUR 60 million and about 300 workers, presented a report that at their General Meeting held last Saturday, "the serious situation in which the plantain market is passing through, due to high temperatures and lack of professionalism, and the inconsiderate behaviour towards farmers in a OPP located in Los Llanos and the refusing to abide by decisions approved by a majority of the industry was widely reported."
Cupalma manager, Domingo Martin, said that "the behaviour of the OPP has led to millions in losses for a sector in need of resources," so "an immediate reaction is required from the Ministry of Agriculture to bring order to a entity that does not respect the public interest and has seriously damaged the interests of Canary producers."
Source: El Día