The Citrus Management Committee (CGC) has called on national and European authorities to urgently establish a secure corridor to ensure the transit of perishable Spanish products through France. "We have already had several consecutive days of blockades, riots and protests by French agricultural unions. This is affecting thousands of trucks, with some blocked and others circulating with extreme difficulty, causing significant harm to the sector due to widespread delivery delays. In the service areas of several highways in the province of Barcelona, the mossos (Catalan police) have been asking shippers to stop due to the saturation at the border crossing of La Jonquera, in the province of Girona. The CGC warns that the crisis could soon lead to mass order cancellations and, not much later, to supply shortages."
"The CGC agrees with the motivations of the protests in this country and in other European ones, but insists that the Spanish horticultural sector is also a victim of the loss of competitiveness against the productions from third countries due to the lack of reciprocity in the regulations and the environmental and trade policies that the EU has been implementing in recent years. The CGC also mentioned once again that trucks are the main means of transport, with a decisive impact on the competitiveness of Spanish citrus and horticulture when up against the cheaper supply from third countries with much lower labor and social costs."
"The solution to the problems of European agriculture cannot be to punish shippers and the Spanish agricultural sector, which now and in previous occasions has been the main victim of such violent actions. After all, with their protests, what they are attacking is our primary advantage, which is our ability to provide the best service," said the president of this association, Inmaculada Sanfeliu.
The CGC has learned of the dumping of the load of some trucks of its associates but, as serious as this is, the irreparable damage that this is causing to the entire supply chain is much more important.
With between 400,000 and 500,000 tons shipped, January is one of the three peak months for Spanish citrus exports. Such figures represent between 25 and 30% of all Spanish foreign trade in fruits and vegetables this month. In fact, around 40% of all citrus exports for the entire campaign are carried out between November and January. "If this situation is not addressed soon, the losses for the sector will surely be counted in the millions."
For more information:
CGC
www.citricos.org