Transition to regional veg in food retailing is happening too late

For many weeks now, high quality vegetables, produced regionally, have been available. Sadly, consumers had a different experience in the supermarkets until just a few days ago. Mostly Spanish products were offered for dumping prices. Although many trading companies are currently transitioning to domestic products, this change of heart comes too late according to the president of the Farmers- and Winegrowers-Association Rheinland-Pfalz Süd e.V., Eberhard Hartelt.

Due to the cheap imports from Spain at the beginning of the season, the market is under a lot of pressure and regional products were not sold. Then prices collapsed and were not covering costs anymore in many places. The BWV-president criticizes the behaviour of food retailers. In the glossy brochures, they talk about regionality but when it comes to procurement policies, regionality is long forgotten. Furthermore, it is not okay for food retailers to demand additional requirements from German producers which are significantly higher than the (already high) legal requirements. Many producers end up not being able to sell their products.

There are hardly any countries with stricter requirements than Germany, the minimum wage is significantly higher than it is in other countries of the European Union. Domestic companies have to pay their seasonal workers about twice as much as a producer in Spain, Hartelt reports. Under these circumstances a cost leadership is impossible to reach for German businesses. This has to be acknowledged by food retailers, in terms of the regionality of production which is sought by society.

On the other hand, Hartelt does not want to leave out the exemplary retailers either that started switching to regional products at the beginning of the season. He wants to thank these companies personally for supporting the domestic agriculture, as well as the consumers, for whom regionality was not just an empty promise.

Source: bwv rlp