Spanish growers have slammed retailers in Germany for selling their citrus at what they describe as "unsustainably low" prices.
Valencia farmers association Ava-Asaja said the major retail chains in Germany had embarked on a large-scale commercial offensive in order to buy citrus at prices lower than last season.
The group also warned that growers were in danger of falling into a bidding war, pushing down their prices and threatening the overall success of this year's campaign.
Cristóbal Aguado, president of Ava-Asaja said: "These pressures from the big German supermarkets on Spainsh citrus have an immediate impact on the prices negotiated at the farm gate.
"We must remember that this season we have forecast a fall in the harvest of 20 per cent and so we are facing a balanced season that should bring reasonable returns.
"Therefore, all these manoeuvres on the part of retailers to pay even less than last year, which was a total disaster for producers, can only be explained as trading strategies based on unacceptable speculation and lack of conscience."
Growers are still waiting to find out more about a proposed new law to improve the way the food chain operates in Spain.
The organisation urged both Spanish traders and growers "to resist the blackmail of the big German chains".
Aguado warned: "We cannot afford to waste this season, when it has barely even begun. The citrus sector is in an extreme predicament: last year there were increased defaults and bankruptcy proceedings and abandonment of farms."
