Sudden decision causes consternation amongst Almerian exporters
Coexphal, the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations of Almería, has described last week’s decision by the US administration to halt imports of Spanish peppers as “a bucket of cold water” for the region’s exporters.
The association said it is doing all it can to resolve the situation so that shipments – which only started again last December – can be resumed.
Spain exported approximately 1,000 tonnes of peppers to the US between 1 December and 15 January and this figure was expected to double by the end of the export period on 30 April.
Coexphal’s manager, Luis Miguel Fernández, said: “In addition to the economic losses recorded, there is also the breaking of the commercial agreements that the companies had with their American clients, something that is very worrying for the reputation of the sector, so we work daily to ensure that this does not happen”.
This is not the first time that the US authorities have banned imports of Spanish peppers. In December 2022, the United States Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) halted imports of Almerian-grown peppers due to the discovery of Mediterranean fruit fly.
Coexphal said it had made a great effort to comply with all the regulations established in the export protocol. It has contacted the Spanish government to find out the details and to demand immediate action in the process to recover this export window that has been open for just over a month.