In the period between week 39, when production in the province of Almeria was in full swing for many crops, and week 46, prices have fallen significantly compared to the same period of the 2018-2019 campaign. According to data from the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Council of Agriculture of Andalusia, the prices of cucumber, zucchini, pepper, tomato and eggplant have fallen by an average of 45% during these eight weeks.
The price drop is greatest for zucchini (-57.3%), with an average price of 0.35 Euro per kilo, compared to 0.82 Euro per kilo last year. Eggplant saw its price fall by 52.45%, averaging 0.29 Euro per kilo during this eight-week period. Meanwhile, cucumbers (-43.47%), tomatoes (-43.05%) and bell peppers (-26.08%) have also recorded drops. Just looking at these figures, it doesn't look like bell peppers are that affected, but on closer inspection, the decline is actually problematic, because bell peppers are the flagship of horticulture in Almería, both in terms of cultivation area and production volume.
The growers themselves, but also the growers' organizations, are pointing the finger at the Spanish government, and especially at Brussels, as the ones responsible for the liberalization of the European market. They claim that more and more vegetables are coming from Morocco every year, including products from the Western Sahara.
"It is unfair competition," says the horticultural organization Coag, which denounces that Morocco is a country against which it is simply impossible to compete, because production costs are up to 10 times lower there.
According to the growers' organizations, it is necessary to control these imports through import levies, a quota reduction and a revision of the minimum prices of non-EU products.
Moreover, the sector is under the pressure of large European distribution chains, which impose their prices on the growers. For its part, Brussels has not approved any laws setting some limits. The growers are seeing price inflation being tolerated, which is something that will ultimately also have consequences for the consumer. More transparency is needed, but also clear, effective guidelines to reduce the current imbalances in the value chain.
Problems don't only come from abroad, although there is no doubt that they are ultimately decisive. The companies and growers of Almería have failed to find satisfactory solutions to the current crisis, even though it was already clear that part of the problem had its roots in Almería itself. The biggest problem has been a lack of planning and organization.
Source: diariodealmeria.es