The Valencian Association of Agricultural Producers (AVA-ASAJA) has filed a complaint to the Agency for Information and Food Control (AICA) against a promotional campaign launched by the German chain Aldi, which is reducing the price of mandarins by 25% just when the citrus fruit harvest is starting in Spain. The agricultural organization has urged this body under the Ministry of Agriculture to start an investigation and, if necessary, impose an exemplary penalty to Aldi for allegedly carrying out sales at a loss, since the price of 1.49 Euro per kilo could have caused severe damage to the value of the product along the food chain.
The president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, lashed out against this retail chain of German origin. "Aldi again shamelessly demonstrates German animosity towards Spanish citriculture. While oranges and mandarins from South Africa and other countries in the southern hemisphere were filling the shelves of their supermarkets, there was no problem in maintaining reasonable prices. But just as the first Spanish mandarins are starting to be marketed, they are suddenly in a hurry to use citrus fruits as a product to attract customers. This makes it easier to understand why the Germans put their commercial interests with South Africa above solidarity and European phytosanitary safety."
Aguado railed against what he considered to be Aldi's hypocrisy. "Why does it have to sell a mandarin that it knows perfectly well it is fresher, healthier, safer and more environmentally-friendly at a cheaper price? The South African citrus arrives in Europe after more than twenty days at sea, they use active phytosanitary materials that are banned here and do not meet the same labor, social or environmental conditions."
The other unavoidable question is: "Why is Aldi reducing the price by 25%? With that new amount, some link in the food chain must be suffering losses. Even if everyone is still making a profit, who was taking that 25% profit margin? We believe that with this reduced price, the producer cannot cover the production costs, which have increased by 41% in the last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture. Given the doubts generated by this move from Aldi, we are asking the AICA to investigate whether the producers or the following links in the value chain are having to sell at a loss."
For more information: www.avaasaja.org
