The agricultural organizations Asaja, COAG and UPA have described the protests of recent days as a "resounding success", with about 35,000 people taking part in the demonstrations convened in Galicia, Aragon, Basque Country, La Rioja, Andalusia, Castile-Leon and Extremadura. The organizers of the protest, carried out under the slogan "Producers reaching their limit", believe that this cannot be ignored and announced more demonstrations this week in the provinces of Santander, Toledo and Madrid, while next week they will be held in Córdoba, Málaga and Granada.
In addition to the increase in production costs and the imposition of export tariffs on Spanish agro-food products, the sector's main complaint is the prices they receive for their products. Producers denounce that they obtain a negligible profit, compared to what the consumer pays in the supermarket, which reflects an imbalance of the agro-food chain. It happens with potatoes, which are up to 8 times more expensive in stores, compared to what the growers receive (from 15 cents to 1.2 Euro per kilo), or with oranges, which see their price increase seven-fold (from 23 cents to 1.55 Euro).
Government response
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, was conciliatory in describing the protest as "legitimate" and advocated to improve the Law of the Chain, aimed precisely at preventing imbalances between producers, industry and supermarkets, while arguing for a better organization of the sector to allow it to improve its bargaining power.
Luis Planas announced the setting up of an agricultural negotiating table, which was launched on the afternoon of February 17 with a meeting held at the Ministry with representatives of ASAJA, COAG and UPA. According to the minister, there is widespread concern in all sectors and territories, although there are some which have been more severely hit, such as those devoted to stone fruit or greenhouse horticulture.
Planas said he had telephone conversations with the French minister and the German minister on the matter in order to share opinions, because the problems of the primary sector need solutions "at both European and at Spanish level."
Source: Efe / larioja.com