Produce leaders in the south-eastern Spanish region of Murcia have warned that there will be huge losses for the winter vegetables and salad sector unless action is taken urgently.
According to Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, secretary general of the producers’ association Asaja Murcia, the area planted by growers of lines such as broccoli, capsicum, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes has fallen by 15 per cent year on year. Gálvez attributes this to rising costs of production and water scarcity.
He said: “The fall in planted area demonstrates the uncertainty dominating the sector. The high costs of inputs, the low prices growers are getting for their products and the water shortage, although they are the same old problems in a sense, they are all aggravated by the ongoing global financial crisis. But the paucity of water is one of our major problems in this region and we will not see it solved until central government establishes a strategic water policy.
“We are trying all we can… but the accounts just don’t add up. Growers are losing money every day while our products just go up in price at the point of sale.”
Gálvez is calling on the whole sector to face up to what could be “the worst campaign for years” by working together. “The only way to save this season is to concentrate our offer and work in a co-ordinated way as producers, distributors and consumers. It is the only way to avoid the crisis in pricing and assure survival in the countryside.”
Meanwhile, further west in the soft-fruit growing area of Huelva, indications are for a crop of 250,000 tonnes of strawberries and 10,000t of raspberries. Planted area has increased slightly on last season 7,540ha, but José Manuel Romero, president of sector group Freshuelva said production will be slightly down due to the focus on newer varieties that offer better quality and spread production more evenly throughout the season.
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