La Unió de Llauradors (Growers' Association) is concerned about the impact that the Russian veto could have for the 22,000 tonnes of summer fruits (peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums) of Valencia that were exported to that market in 2014, worth almost 23 million Euro.
It is worth noting that, last season, the introduction of the Russian ban on food exports from the European Union took place when our campaign was almost complete and thus had a very small impact. For the current campaign, however, there are huge concerns amongst summer fruit producers who additionally have no access to CAP subsidies.
Valencian summer fruit exports to Russia in 2014 accounted for 14% of the total. Over the last three years (2012, 2013, 2014), summer fruit shipments to the Russian market have amounted to 67 million kilos, 16% of the total volume exported, worth 73 million Euro, 15% of the total revenue generated. According to La Unió, the problem is not only that the region will not be assured the export of such a large volume of fruit, but also that other markets could become saturated, which would adversely affect prices for producers.
La Unió pointed out that we are in a very difficult situation that requires adequate compensations to cover the losses that will be generated. Current EU regulations ensure subsidies for the withdrawal of citrus, which have already used up their quota, vegetables and pears, and no specific measures for summer fruit, which are now starting the export campaign, have been discussed. "It is not logical for producers of different crops to be discriminated, and for Valencian growers having to pay the consequences of a situation that is fully the result of a political conflict," says Ramón Mampel, general secretary of La Unió.
The agricultural organisation also affirms that the European Commission has done nothing over the past year to re-open the Russian market and asks why it has not denounced the veto to the World Trade Organization (WTO) "A year has passed without any effective solutions for producers," says Mampel.
In this sense, La Unió, through its state organisation Unión de Uniones, has requested a meeting with the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Commission to analyse the situation caused by the Russian veto in order to establish more efficient compensatory mechanisms to help stabilise the markets and benefit producers and associative entities that are withdrawing their produce.