"Spain: "German potato discounts disproportionate"

Andalusia's potato campaign, which had a big decrease in production because of the rains, is nearly over. The rigorous protocol to treat the Epitrix in Spanish potatoes and the abusive discounts of the German market complicated matters more in a campaign where producers won't achieve the positive results they expected.

According to Jose Pelaez, manager of Sevillana de Patatas, vice president of Asociafruit, and member of Europatat, "We were ready to start marketing the new potato on May 15, but a few days before the harvest we had more than 200 liters per square meter of rainfall in less than four days, which delayed the campaign until the second week of June." 

"We expected to move about 10,000 tons this season, but at the end we could only sell about 6,000 tons. The high temperatures in winter and the low temperatures in spring diminished the harvest a lot. Later, the heavy rains resulted in many cases of mildew and rot due to moisture. This situation has been widespread in Andalusia. "

Since there were fewer kilos available, prices have been notoriously higher. However, the expert said, that does not mean they'll make a profit, as potato purchases have high tax discounts, especially in the German market. "It is true that the quality of the potato has not been the best because of the last minute rains. However, I believe that the discounts that the German storekeepers applied because we didn't meet standards are really disproportionate. I'm sure many of our farmers will refuse to produce for the German market in the future," he said.

"It is inconsistent that, due to the environmental movement in Germany, several German chains ask us about our irrigation system and water resource management to assess and differentiate our water use efficiency compared to other sources, such as Egypt and Israel They also rejected a third of our cargo exported, which was perfectly fit for consumption, because the potatoes had small scratches. Isn't this hypocritical?"

This year, shortly before the start of the Spanish potato season, the UK announced new protocol measures to prevent cases of epitrix in Spanish potato shipments. 

"Our impression is that Europe has taken into account unscientific criteria when legislating. Recent scientific studies are proving that it isn't a pest, but a very slight impact on the cultivation of potatoes. There is evidence that this organism can't thrive in countries where temperatures drop below 5 degrees in winter, so it could not expand in the countries of central and northern Europe. " 

Recent research has determined that this organism is not from the United States, as was previously thought, but that it could have always existed in the Iberian peninsula and was a species that had not been catalogued so far. 

"All the arguments for a quarantine are slowly falling apart. This issue has been legislated based on impressions, assumptions, and fears; and that can really hurt the industry," he said. 

Europatat has already released a statement urging the Plant Health Committee of the EU to review the case.

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