About 300 tractors and trailers full of shallots blocked the centre of Morlaix on Wednesday. Conventional shallot producers were demonstrating against unfair competition, apparently some seedling varieties that are commercialised as shallots and are in fact onions. 10 or so tractors were also parked along the roads into the town, covering over more than 4 kilometres.
Conventionally farmed shallots are planted by hand, whilst these are mechanically planted. "One hectare of hand planted shallots is 450 hours of work, compared to hardly even half an hour for those mechanically planted" explained Jacques, a producer in the North Finistere, "It is disloyal" he says, and sorry that large retailers "give the same value to both types of products". He explains that the consumer is fooled as the seedling varieties are in fact "long onions".
According to the Finistere based demonstrators, 5 years ago seed shallot volume represented an estimated 4,000 tons on the national 40,000 ton market. Today they are estimated to represent up to 10,000 tons on a national market of 45,000 to 50,000 tons. They say that the consequence is "an ultra saturated shallot market with products falsely named and with lower prices".
Having already alerted the national and European authorities, and before a consent is made between France and Holland that will provide a more suitable structure for seedling products, they have demanded "the immediate removal" of such varieties.
They have also demanded a firm stand from public authorities to defend the conventional shallot sector in Brussels.