"Faced with the campaign launched by a distribution chain with potato offers at 0.90 euros/kg, ensuring that it is a new potato (from this campaign) and of Spanish origin, ASAJA has warned consumers about the deception behind this kind of offer and asked the Ministry of Agriculture to tighten controls on the agri-food chain agents to detect and sanction, when appropriate, any fraudulent practices that harm both consumers and Spanish producers."
"The new potato of national origin that producers are currently selling is being paid at origin at 0.60 euro/kg. Therefore, it's impossible for a distribution chain to market it at 0.90 euro/kg at its points of sale when taking into consideration the costs of processing, washing, meshing, labeling, transporting, and other costs required to sell this product." According to inquiries made by ASAJA, "the potato they're selling is from the previous season (subjected to several months of cold storage) and of French origin."
"We appeal to the food chain's common sense and responsibility, especially of the distribution sector, so that they don't use the potato as a complaint product, resorting to imported or inferior quality batches of potatoes to try to destabilize prices and pressure national growers to sell at a loss. ASAJA also asked the Ministry for "maximum diligence in ensuring compliance with the agri-food chain law."
"Any pressure to lower producer prices translates into an automatic reduction in plantings, especially sensitive crops such as potatoes. In recent years, the area devoted to potato production has decreased. Spain doesn't produce enough potatoes and has to import to cover consumption, a dangerous trend of dependence that our country cannot afford."
"Spain consumes about 2.5 million tons of potatoes a year. Approximately 1.2 million are produced in Spain, and the rest is imported, especially from France. The low profitability threshold is the main reason for the reduction in the area of potatoes and ASAJA considers that the area of potatoes cannot continue decreasing, as it is an essential production for the country and also because of its strong implantation in areas such as Castilla y León, with about 2,000 professional growers, Galicia, Andalusia, and Murcia."
"Respecting the legitimate benefits of the farmer is not only moral, but also legally enforceable, and we expect the Administration to act accordingly at the slightest attempt to break the rules that we have all set for ourselves and that guarantee that consumers receive a quality product," ASAJA stated.
Source: asaja.com
