The agrarian organization UPA has denounced the serious crisis suffered by the potato sector in Spain, with "disastrous prices at origin and deceptions to the consumers at the point of sale," in reference to recent allegations of consumer deception by companies such as Carrefour, Dia, Alcampo, Lidl and Mercadona, which are selling old potatos from France as if they were new and as if they were from Spain. The producers stated that they were in an emergency situation: "There are a lot of un-harvested potatoes in the field," they say. "Prices are terrible, between 3 and 5 cents per kilo. It's just not worth harvesting."
The producers called for the creation of a Spanish Potato Trade Organization, which would help improve the potato market, in a meeting held between the leaders of the Union of small farmers and cattlemen of the main producing areas (Castile and Leon, Galicia and Andalusia) and members of the Ministry of Agriculture; an initiative that was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, according to UPA leaders.
The UPA believes that with the creation of this organization would improve the structuring of the sector and the producers' position in the potato market. The producers protested against the behaviour displayed by large-scale distribution and requested they act responsibly and support the Spanish potato.
Consumers continue to be deceived
UPA has made new serious allegations about the major distribution chains for the way they are marketing potatoes. "They are deceiving the consumers and are busting a sector with great potential," they say.
A research led by this organization has demonstrated that the potato in those establishments, between September and April, wasn't from Spain, but that these markets were selling old French potatoes that had been cold stored for months. This causes a decrease in the average quality of the potatoes available to consumers, who stop appreciating the product. "We eat old French potatoes that have a bad quality, while our potatoes do not reach the Spanish consumer. It is absurd," they declared.
In 2013, Spain imported nearly 700,000 tons of potatoes and exported almost 250,000 tons of its 2.2 million-ton production, which makes the country an importer. Nearly 95% all potatoes imported by Spain come from the European Union, especially from France. Castile and Leon, Galicia and Andalusia are the main producers. According to data from Mercasa, Spaniards consumed 1,423.9 million of kilos of potatoes and spent 1,217.9 million Euro on this product in 2013. In per capita terms, consumption amounted to 31.4 kilos and 26.8 Euro of expenditure. Supermarkets and hypermarkets account for almost 60% of the market share of potatoes.
Source: UPA-AGROINFORMACIÓN