Strawberry growers in Huelva in south-western Spain have begun pulling up their plants in the face of low prices.

Prices crashed in the week before Easter in Spain leading grower groups to ask their members to act. They are pulling up about 25 per cent of strawberry production, but the president of grower association Freshuelva José Manuel Romero doubts the measure will bring much relief to members. “Prices will continue to be bad this season,” he said.

Industry insiders say that the amount withdrawn is effectively the amount sent to processing and Ventana is the variety affected.

Grower groups Coag and Upa have said they will look seriously at the situation at the end of the season and carry out an analysis of the sector. Some members have mooted possible double-labelling so that the price paid to the grower as well as the price to the consumer are shown on packaging.

Both organisations agree that action is required to rescue their sector. “A profound analysis of the sector is vital to know the variety used in each plantation, date of planting, microtunnel, or macrotunnel,” said Eduardo Dominguez of Coag. “All of this is important to avoid crises like the current one.”

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