The Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture and producer organization Frozen Vegetables ETG are raising the alarm. Since frozen vegetables' sales have been falling for years, prices are dropping, while dry summers are caus
ing farmers to incur additional costs. Economic production is no longer possible at the prices offered and this puts livelihoods in danger. Now the frozen vegetables producers find themselves with their backs to the wall.
Instead of understanding and a common consensus, negotiations with the frozen food industry have so far lacked understanding and hard lines. Since 14th January, price negotiations are frozen. Almost 4,000 hectares of cultivated land are affected by the current trade stop. From green peas to vegetable soy, a colorful variety of vegetables is produced for the frozen segment. While in other sectors prices and costs are adjusted upwards according to current aspects, there has been a veritable price decline in the frozen vegetables sector for years.
For this reason, representatives of the producers actively sought talks with representatives of the frozen food industry. The goal: For each separate culture to provide farmers with an economic margin that will allow them to continue working as they are doing.
Source: LKÖ / Handelszeitung.at