Spanish fresh produce federation Fepex has presented Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture with what it described as “15 urgent measures” that should be taken to tackle the current economic recession in the country’s horticultural sector.
Among the proposals put forward, and in an apparent reference to contested Moroccan tomato imports, the organisation is calling on the Spanish government to establish stricter customs controls that “guarantee compliance with commercial agreements”.
Fepex is also calling on the authorities to put in place measures to provide greater lines of credit to fresh produce companies, which it says are needed to enable investment by producers and allow access to working capital.
In a meeting yesterday (21 December) with the Ministry of Agriculture, the federation said that Spain’s fresh produce sector had been suffering over the past year from a “loss of profitability and competitiveness”, which it claimed had been caused by a rise in non-European imports and a sharp fall in returns.
Fepex also urged the government to take steps to aid producers’ efforts to modernise greenhouse and open air fruit and vegetable production.
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