The 2015-2016 tomato for export harvest campaign ended in the Canary Islands and production amounted to 61,750.9 tons, 4,171 tons or 6.32% less than in the previous harvest, according to data released on Monday by the two provincial employers of the sector.
The Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Products of the province of Las Palmas (FEDEX) and the Association of Harvesters and Exporters from Tenerife (ACETO) met on Monday with the Executive President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, to inform him of the situation of the sector and its demands.
According to the sector, the smallest decline in the tomato exports was registered in the province of Las Palmas, which exported 53,348.6 tons this campaign, i.e. 18.3 tons (-0.03%) less than the 53,366.9 tons it exported in the previous campaign.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife produced 8,384 tons, i.e. 4,185 tons less than the (-33.28%) it produced in the previous campaign.
By contrast, canary cucumber exports grew by 1.62%, as they went from 22,780.5 to 23,150 tons.
The Canary Islands produced 84,901.2 tons of tomatoes and cucumbers for export, i.e. 3802.4 tons or 4.28% less than in the previous harvest.
Producers reminded Clavijo that 54.2% of the harvest was sent to the UK and that the rest had been distributed to other European countries, so the British decision to leave the European Union generated worry and concern among the fruit and vegetable export sector.
In the meeting, which was also attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Narvay Quintero, and the Deputy Minister of Primary Industry, Abel Morales, the president of Fedex-Aceto, Jose Juan Bonny spoke about the evolution of employment, area cultivated -690 hectares in this campaign-, the number of companies, and the sector's production data of the last ten years.
According to Bonny, the decrease in exports were due to pests, the increase in production costs, maintaining sale prices, failure to compensate shipping, competition from third countries, and funding problems.
Additionally, he said, climate change not only affected the archipelago's production but also prolonged the European productions by two months on average, thus shortening the campaign in the Canary Islands.
The demands made by the sector include the payment of the annuity aid per hectare established in the 2011 Strategic Plan, consolidating that help at 14,000 euros/hectare in the new Strategic Plan, paying the cucumber's POSEI twice, and supporting its trade like they do with tomatoes, among other things.
The sector requested the Canary Government safeguard the compensation for shipping by making it part of the Economic and Fiscal Regime and to meet 70% of what the decree collected, far from the fifty percent used last year or the earlier drastic cuts it has suffered.
Additionally, employers told the president this compensation should be paid fully so that they can have the same conditions as mainland producers, and to mitigate the effects of the region's insularity and outermost region status (RUP).
They have also asked the Executive to exercise greater efficiency in the phytosanitary control at ports and airports, in order to avoid catastrophes, like the spoon viruses or the whitefly.
In turn, Fernando Clavijo acknowledged that "the situation of tomato producers has been very difficult in recent years. That's why the Government is taking a number of measures aimed at stopping the decline in production experienced by this culture and establishing a plan that allows them to recover acreage and production."
Clavijo said the government expected to establish the actions to be carried out by the end of the year, and stressed that, while they still had to complete and implement the document, they had already increased the aid to the area established in the Posei from 7,700 to 11,000 euro.
As for the supplementary aid of the POSEI, Clavijo told the sector the Government would work so the central government paid it, like in France and in Portugal, as the canary government has been making this contribution authorized by the EU for the RUPs in the past five years.
Source: eldiario.es