The Spanish government must urgently revise its agricultural policies by tackling external promotions, market information and delivering a “definitive solution to the water problem”.
This is the view of Juan Marin, president of Murcian export consortium Proexport, who used his keynote address at the organisation’s general assembly this month to call for sweeping changes in the government’s approach to the fresh produce sector.
“For the future of the agricultural sector, there is an urgent need for us to restore the path to profitability for our products and businesses,” he said.
To achieve this, Marin urged the Spanish authorities to “urgently take a change of direction in the country’s agricultural policies”. “We have arrived at a moment when we need policies that truly serve growers and producer companies to support the Spanish brand in external markets,” he said.
Among the policies singled out by Marin as in need of attention were measures to provide “information to markets and external promotions, help for energy efficiency in tomato production and a definitive solution to the water problem”, with regard to production in southeast Spain.
