Valencia’s citrus growers have taken to the streets to protest against prices below the cost of production and to call for a supply chain code of conduct, similar to that in operation for the largest four UK supermarkets.
More than 2,000 producers demonstrated last week by dumping their fruit at the doors of Carrefour’s centralised buying operation in the region. Further actions are planned for January 11 and 18.
The producers came from all over the region - Spain’s leading producer of citrus - to call for the intervention of regional and national authorities and a minimum price agreement with supermarkets. They criticised pricing in Germany, which, they claimed, was below the cost of production in some stores.
“The grower groups have called on different links in the supply chain - especially the large supermarket chains - to establish urgently a forum for discussion to solve the farm-gate prices crisis and set up a code of conduct for the sector,” the five organisations, La Unió-Coag, Asaja, Fepac, Ava and Upa said in a statement.
Carrefour has already said it is willing to open a dialogue with the organisations following the protest, a move which has been welcomed, but action will continue until an agreement is reached with marketing desks, supermarkets and the authorities, the statement said.
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