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Miguel Ángel Serrano, of Asaja Almería:

"Who knows if what happened to olives or peppers could happen to other products"

On January 15, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that it was updating the import requirements for fresh peppers (Capsicum annuum) from Spain, putting shipments on hold in a season that had already started.

"In fact, we estimate that around one million kilos had already been shipped from authorized greenhouses in Almeria and Alicante since the official start of the pepper export campaign, which kicked off on December 1 and should have continued until April 30," says Miguel Angel Serrano, of Asaja Almeria.

"These greenhouses and packing warehouses had applied in October for authorization to export, and in principle, they had obtained it, but almost unilaterally, the United States stopped the negotiations with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture (admittedly a very complex process), allegedly due to technical criteria."

To be more specific, the United States has added a new import requirement through a Federal Order, stipulating that Spain's National Phytosanitary Protection Organization (ONPF) - which is under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food - must adhere to an Operational Work Plan (OWP) developed jointly with APHIS, outlining the activities and responsibilities of the Spanish NPPO to ensure that fresh peppers exported from Spain are free of Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata).

"We understand that this is a new criterion and if Spain has to adhere to this plan, it will do so; but the problem is that it has been requested with orders already scheduled and ready to be shipped," says Miguel Ángel.

"The United States accounts for a very small share of Almeria's pepper exports and Europe is our main client; however, it's very important for the sector to work on opening up new markets, especially after the loss of the Russian market," he says.

"We must never forget that we are not the only ones exporting to Europe and, as we have seen with tomatoes, every bit of market share that Spain loses as an exporter is immediately taken over by Morocco, which upholds different production standards. This is why we must continue to open up markets where we can differentiate ourselves in terms of quality and guaranteed food safety," says Miguel Ángel.

"The United States, for example, is a huge country with more than 334 million inhabitants and it is the leading non-European market for the Andalusian agro-food sector, so it is a very interesting destination for our high-quality peppers. No other supplier in the world can offer the same phytosanitary and food safety guarantees that exist in Europe (including Spain), and this drastic break isn't leaving us in a very good place. That's why we are urging the competent Spanish authorities to work to resolve this situation as soon as possible," he says.

"In terms of the total volume of exports, the impact won't be that great either, because the amounts that were shipped to the United States can be redirected to other destinations, but the reputation of Spain, and specifically of Almeria, where the export campaign is currently underway, has suffered a certain international impact, and efforts should be made at this time to reopen the U.S. market for our peppers," says Miguel Ángel.

"Worthy of note is that the criteria for ceasing imports were of a technical nature; you could even say bureaucratic. The communication arrived in Spain on January 16, when Trump had not yet been sworn in as president and had not yet signed any decree, so these are two issues that should not be mixed up," he says.

"Now, we still remember what happened in his previous term of office with the tariffs he placed on Spanish agro-food products, such as black olives, and which the Biden administration kept in place. That's why we have to stay alert, because who knows if what happened then, or what happened with peppers, could happen to other vegetables," says Miguel Ángel Serrano.

For more information:
Asaja Almeria
Calle Pablo Picasso, 04745 La Mojonera, Almeria. Spain
Tel.: +34 950 29 09 56
info@asajaalmeria.org
https://asajaalmeria.org/